A character sheet for The Spectrum Game.

open/close all folders

The Spectrums

General

A ragtag "group" that has formed in order to keep peace around Erdeland, which puts them in direct conflict with the crime group, Libera.

Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Though they can all supply all of them in some capacity, generally Azurine is the Beauty, Inigo is the Brains, and Silas is the Brawn.
Big, Thin, Short Trio: Silas is tall and muscular (Big), Inigo is skinny beneath his baggy clothes (Thin), and Azurine is One Head Shorter than the rest (Short).
Drink-Based Characterization: At the Hole, Inigo always orders sweet tea, Azurine a black coffee, and Silas a fruit smoothie. This reflects Inigo being softer on the inside than one might expect, Azurine having a hidden dark side, and Silas being friendly and protective.
Fighter, Mage, Thief: Whenever Jude takes Inigo's place, the dynamic is thus. Silas is the Fighter with his weapon expertise and high defences. Jude is the Mage, wielding a staff and using light magic to shoot projectiles and confound the opponent. Azurine is the Thief, being incredibly fast and wielding a gun. Inigo has elements of all three (albeit less so in the Fighter sense) - he's a skilled martial artist, makes heavy use of his keen mind and magic, and is very fast and prone to stealth.
Four-Temperament Ensemble: They form this whenever Iago teams up with them. Iago is the melodramatic, bombastic and cheerful Sanguine, Azurine is the domineering, confident and hardworking Choleric, Inigo is the analytical, rational and pessimistic Melancholic, and Silas is the gentle, casual and loyal Phlegmatic.
Freudian Trio: Azurine (Id), Inigo (Superego) and Silas (Ego).
Nice Mean And In Between: Silas is the Nice one, being calm, friendly and patient. Inigo is the Mean one, being snarky, rude and cynical. Azurine is the In-Between, as while she is perky and positive, she can get angry quite easily, and can be rather domineering.
Vigilante Man: Collectively. While their main target is Libera, they also break up any criminal activity they find their hands on. They're basically as much of a gang as their targets, it's just that their crime is vigilantism.
We Help the Helpless: Their main goal is to keep the peace, which entails stepping in when people are in danger and can't help themselves.

Inigo Lenahan / "Red Joker"

The central protagonist of the story. Inigo is an amnesiac drifter who wanders Erdeland in hopes of finding his lost memories. Getting directly involved with the Libera/Apex conflict, Inigo later finds Azurine and Silas, and together they form the Spectrums, trying to help others, with Inigo tagging along in hopes that getting involved with this will grant him more clues to his identity.

Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Especially at the start, he's much more brooding and depressed over his predicament and Makoto's father; while not quite as much as his first conception, he definitely falls into this compared to his Prelude days.
Adaptational Nice Guy: Compared to previous versions of the story, Inigo, though still rather stoic, is much less cold, and is less likely to reject others on principle, instead doing it when they prove to be sufficiently weird or annoying - his standards for which have considerably dropped. Case in point, he's the first version of Inigo who didn't instantly rebuff Scarlett's attempts to be friendly with him.
Adaptational Villainy: This version of Inigo is by far the most openly amoral version of him to date — allying with Silas and Azurine was done largely out of Enlightened Self-Interest, he sympathises with Libera to an extent, and he is much more willing to put innocent people in danger for the sake of his goals.
Adaptational Wimp: Zigzagged. Inigo's psychokinesis seems to take a lot more wind from his sails this time around, and this is the first version of him who cannot use it to fly. Meanwhile, his ice magic being replaced with water magic removes much of his already below-average offensive potency. In contrast, however, his martial arts skills are much better than they've ever been, with him showing a lot more acrobatics and willingness to use the terrain to his advantage, and he is a lot more creative with his water powers than he ever was with ice.
A Lighter Shade of Grey: Saying that Inigo is some kind of moral paragon or saint is like saying the sky is green, but compared to the likes of Kotoba and Galileo, he definitely comes across as having the high ground.
Always Late: But only by a couple of minutes at most. Azurine still hates this.
Amnesiac Hero: His whole deal. He's lost his memories, save for a few flashes of knowledge from vague origins, and wants to get them back.
Animal Motifs: Owls, which represent his intelligence, his penchant for stealth and his introspective nature.
Anti-Hero: At worst. Inigo consistently has good intentions behind everything he does, but sometimes this includes shifty actions like lying and manipulating those around him. Generally, he falls into the Disney variant, but isn't afraid to go Pragmatic if it helps him achieve his goal.
Arc Words: "Who am I? Who is 'Inigo'?"
Assassin Outclassin': Defeats the Ravener when Grant hires him to assassinate him.
Berserk Button: Inigo has a deep respect for the dead, and shows no tolerance towards anyone who disrespects them. The Ravener moving the corpses of his victims for the sake of a sick joke pisses him off more than the actual killings do.
Cane Fu: His weapon is a wooden cane, seemingly a walking stick despite his lack of any disabilities. Regardless, he uses it effectively as a bludgeon, a sword, and even a gun (by virtue of using it to aim his water blasts).
Character Catchphrase:
- Often responds to other characters' eccentricities with a deadpan "...sure."
- "Game on." when starting a fight, and "And that's game." upon winning one.
Characterisation Click Moment: He had elements of it before, but it isn't until Chapter 23 that he's fully established as a Fearless Fool with the curiosity of a monkey.
Chessmaster Sidekick: While undeniably the protagonist of the story, Inigo is rather pointedly not the leader of the Spectrums; that would be Azurine. But it's his stratagems that get them as far as they do in the battle against Libera, and despite not exactly having Undying Loyalty, he clearly has no intention of turning his back on her.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Specifically and exclusively towards Makoto. If he sees him in danger, he will drop everything to save his life.
Code Name: Not by choice, but "Red Joker" is his.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: His official colour is purple, specifically violet. His outfits tend to lean towards shades of purple, blue and black.
Combat Pragmatist: When he knows he can't win in a straight fight, his response is to simply stop fighting straight. He'll use stealth, taunts, the environment, and even the local wildlife to his advantage to gain victory. This is part of what Makoto hates about him, viewing him as cowardly and dishonourable.
Creepy Good: Inigo has pale skin and a skinny frame, frequently drawing comparisons to a skeleton, and constant Dull Eyes of Unhappiness. He is borderline emotionless most of the time, and often makes jokes that are cryptic or otherwise dark with a completely straight face. Despite this, he is a good guy, and The Hero of the story.
Dance Battler: In melee, Inigo, being an Extremity Extremist, uses a style reminiscent of breakdancing, with the odd capoeira move here and there.
Deadpan Snarker: Everyone has moments of this, but nobody is as eager or effective a snarker as he is.
Driven to Suicide: Defied. He briefly considers it, only to realise it's just an intrusive thought, and reaffirms that he is not going there. Even later on, when he contemplates handing himself into Libera to stop the fighting, he doesn't consider killing himself again.
Elemental Eye Colors: Inigo has blue eyes, fitting for his water powers.
Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: While calling him an All-Loving Hero is a stretch, Inigo isn't really a hateful person, and as such struggles to feel any real negative feelings towards his enemies; he's friendly with Scarlett and is far too sympathetic towards Makoto to feel any animosity for him. When he meets Grant Monarich for the first time, however, his callous cruelty leads to Inigo deciding then and there that he hates him, and this becomes his motivation for the next arc.
Everyone Has Standards:
- While he thinks nothing of stealing the belongings of any bandits he encounters, Inigo makes sure not to steal anything essential, like cell phones. He also spares anything he thinks might have sentimental value, as shown when he allows Sir Umbrella to keep his locket.
- Inigo at the start is Inigo at his most selfish, but even then, he's willing to drop everything to intervene if lives are on the line.
Extremity Extremist: Kicks are a staple of his fighting style, but you will almost never see him throw a punch. The only time he has ever gone out of his way to punch, it was to distract his opponent so he could follow up with an even faster and stronger kick.
Fatal Flaw: While it isn't too bad down the line, his curiosity more than anything often gets him in trouble. It, rather than any sense of justice or duty, is what leads him to wander into situations he knows are dangerous, which often leads to him making a close brush with death. The Ravener exploits this by going on a highly eccentric killing spree, knowing Inigo would try to find out what was going on, leading him right to him by following the body-arrows he made.
Fearless Fool: Inigo is willing to immerse himself into situations that have nothing to do with him either to gain something or to indulge his curiosity, regardless of the potential dangers involved. That being said, the "Fool" part is downplayed, as Inigo generally knows exactly what he's getting into - he just doesn't particularly mind.
Fragile Speedster: Inigo is very quick and nimble, but as an Adept, he has a weaker than average Natura shield, meaning he can't take many hits.
Friendly Enemy: Doesn't really believe in enemies, and as such is generally on relatively amicable terms with his foes, most notably Scarlett. At least on his side - the likes of Grant have nothing but a genuine loathing for him.
Guile Hero: In and out of combat, his keen mind is his greatest asset.
Guilt Complex: Inigo's remorse towards killing Ryuto Kozuki has made him something of a compulsive fixer, borderline obsessed with helping other people no matter what.
Ham and Deadpan Duo: The Deadpan to just about everyone he regularly interacts with, most notably Azurine, Iago and Makoto.
Heroic Neutral: At first, he wants absolutely nothing to do with the Apex-Libera conflict, and would honestly rather be left alone. However, he also happens to have a case of Chronic Hero Syndrome, and should he be pulled into any conflict, he will make sure the right thing is done.
I Hate Past Me: Starting from his learning about his killing of Makoto's father, in front of the boy himself, no less, Inigo is really not fond of his past self.
I Know Your True Name: Surprises Galileo by revealing he knows his name is actually Grant Monarich. Justified, as he heard it from Jude a few days prior.
In a Single Bound: His main application of his Water element is to create a geyser beneath his feet to jump up incredibly high.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be a bit of an asshole at times, even to his friends, but he truly cares about them and about doing the right thing.
Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: His mental state improves significantly after befriending Silas and Azurine, and he becomes noticeably less melancholic and angsty in the process, being more of a playful snarker and even smiling more often.
Lovable Rogue: Let's not sugarcoat things, Inigo is an unrepentant thief, but you root for him anyway.
Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A downplayed Rare Male Example. Inigo isn't 'manic' by any means (in fact, he's rather grounded and low-energy), but he is nonetheless the free-spirited stranger who enters Scarlett's life, quickly notices her Stepford Smiler tendencies, and through his interactions with her, introduces numerous opportunities for her to unleash her otherwise repressed altruistic side.
Manipulative Bastard: For someone so unassuming, he is very skilled at controlling people. This is best shown in his liberation of Ruben Town, where he not only performs an impressive Batman Gambit relying on Grant's Smug Snake personality to expose him, but he intentionally leaves out details of his plan so that Silas, Azurine and Jude act in just the right way to piss Grant off enough to ruin his sense of restraint.
Nay-Theist: Is well aware that the gods exist, but he hates them, and is fully convinced that the reverse also applies.
Nice Mean And In Between: During the battle of Caerulus, Inigo is the In-Between to Scarlett's Nice and Makoto's Mean. He's decently sociable and amicable, but he's also very snarky and shown to be judgemental with both of his allies to varying degrees.
Not Distracted by the Sexy: Barely, if at all, seems to notice Scarlett's attempts to flirt with him.
Not So Stoic: Breaks out of his usual stoicism when he witnesses Grant Monarich blow up a car station in broad daylight. Accompanied by an Atomic F-Bomb.
The Owl-Knowing One: He is associated with owls, and he is known for his intellect and street smarts.
Pragmatic Hero: He is willing to compromise his morals for the greater good, but never sinks to the same lows that Iago does, and in fact opposes him because even he has standards.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni to Makoto's Red Oni. Whenever the two of them interact, Makoto tends to let his emotions overcome him, mostly expressing anger. Inigo, on the other hand, tends to suppress his, with only remorse getting through. In interactions with other people, Inigo, though snappy, is nonchalant and relaxed, while Makoto is more dorky and expressive.
Signature Move: An axe-kick from above, usually powered by water magic to increase its force.
Smart People Shoot: As a testament to his preference of brains over brawn, Inigo tends to aim his cane like a gun when firing water blasts.
The So-Called Coward: Makoto insists that all his combat pragmatism makes him a coward, ignoring his long streak of brave actions.
Sour Outside, Sad Inside: While generally more stoic than anything, Inigo's snarky, frequently-annoyed nature makes it clear that he's not trying to hide the fact that he's kind of a grouch. What he is trying to hide is the sadness and identity issues that come with his amnesia, on top of all the stress his situation with Libera puts him in.
Stealth Expert: Mainly in the middle of a battle, but Inigo knows how to use the shadows to his advantage, as demonstrated in his fight with Makoto.
Stepford Snarker: Downplayed. Inigo is very sarcastic, but the narration makes it clear that it's at least partially a way to both hide and distract himself from his feelings of inadequacy. That said, it's also clear that he's naturally a smartass even without that, and generally doesn't suffer fools easily.
Sweet Tooth: He takes his tea with four sugars, and tops it off with any kind of sweet bakery item. It's fair to say he likes his sweets.
Token Evil Teammate: Downplayed. He's not a bad person, necessarily, but he's kinda rough around the edges and has the loosest morals of the Spectrums. Of the trio, he also showcases the most pro-Libera sympathies, albeit not enough for him to stop opposing them.
What the Hell, Hero?: In Chapter 36, everyone calls Inigo out for his manipulative, deceptive tactics to expose Galileo. Inigo defends his actions from a practical standpoint, but is quick to accept that morally, his plan was questionable at best.

Azurine Lovell

A kindhearted and optimistic, yet deceptively shrewd young woman. Alongside her friend Silas, she goes around trying to find signs of Libera activity so she can snuff it out. When she learns of Inigo, she does her absolute best to scout him out so she can recruit him to her side.

Badass Adorable: She's tiny and cute, but she packs a punch with her Lightning Gun.
Badass Bookworm: She enjoys reading, and is just as capable a fighter as the rest, as shown when she makes short work of a well-built "alpha male".
Berserk Button: Gets incredibly angry if you dare make fun of her height. In general, she doesn't take kindly to Inigo's teasing nicknames in the least.
Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: In contrast to Inigo, Azurine's choices of insults and comebacks are rather unsophisticated and often somewhat juvenile.
Cerebro Electro: Her primary Natura element is Lightning, and she's a very gifted mathematician.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Her official colour is blue, mainly shades like cerulean. In her outfits, she incorporates blues and greens.
Embarrassing Nickname: Inigo has a few for her, most notably 'Smurfette' and 'Bluey'. Mostly because the former is a stealthy jab at her short stature.
Establishing Character Moment: Her actions in her first two chapters capture her character perfectly. She makes her first impression shooting Inigo in the head, prompting him to chase her so she can test his combat abilities, and when he catches her, she reveals her opposition to Libera and invites Inigo along, treating it like no big deal despite the poor first impression. This cements her as a clever but somewhat zany girl with a strong sense of justice.
Fragile Speedster: She's very fast on her feet and is a crack shot with her gun, but her Natura shield is noted to be weaker than your typical Natural.
Genki Girl: Azurine is, to put it simply, a bundle of chaotic energy and enthusiasm, which pairs well with Silas' Mellow Fellow nature.
Hair-Trigger Temper: In addition to her specific triggers regarding lateness and her height, it typically doesn't take much to set Azurine off.
Height Angst: Is insecure about her short height, which doesn't pair well with Inigo and Iago's nicknaming tendencies.
The Leader: Of the Spectrums. She is the one who plans their ventures, and the other two rally behind her, even if Inigo tends to challenge her authority.
The Napoleon: Despite being very short, Azurine is quick to anger and very bossy.
Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Azurine is, as frequently stated, not very physically imposing, but she still generally provides the best raw damage output among the Spectrums.
Plucky Girl: She's very outspoken, optimistic and daring despite her slight frame.
The Pollyanna: Her defining trait is her everlasting happiness, and she is among the most optimistic and upbeat characters.
Real Men Take It Black: Her drink of choice is black coffee, but seeing as she is more or less the exact opposite of a "real man", this trope is very much inverted.
Shorter Means Smarter: Azurine is the shortest of the Spectrums, but is one of the best schemers and is unrivalled in book smarts.
Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: Is one of the main characters in the book, and has both red hair and green eyes.
The Team Benefactor: As her family is fairly well-off, Azurine generally provides funds for whatever the Spectrums need. She even gives Inigo a phone after learning he doesn't have one.
True Blue Femininity: Downplayed. She's associated with the colour Blue, but she's more of a tomboy than anything.
What the Hell, Hero?: She's the one who calls Inigo out on his risky scheme to expose Galileo.
Womanchild: At age 20, she is a legal adult, and is actually older than Silas by a couple of months, but she's got an optimistic outlook, a quick temper, a complex over her height, and is prone to overreacting. She also has some rather childish insults and comebacks. Inigo himself has even questioned her age at numerous points, but she does claim to have ID to prove it.

Silas Landkeep

Azurine's friend and partner in crime, who works part-time at the Java Hole. Silas is a laid-back man with a penchant for cheesy jokes, and acts as a voice of reason whenever his teammates get too zany. Despite this, however, he is genuinely dedicated to Azurine's cause, and will do anything to support her.

Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: To Azurine, being the Straight Man in her ditzier moments.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: His official colour is yellow. His outfits tend to make use of yellows alongside reds.
Elemental Hair Colors: He's got brown hair to go with his Earth magic.
Friendly Enemy: As a member of Libera, Valerie is his enemy, but that doesn't stop them from being gym buddies off-duty, and the two seem to genuinely like one another despite their allegiances.
The Gadfly: Has a noticeable mischievous side, and seems to enjoy harmlessly needling others in casual conversation, even on the job.
Gentle Giant: Downplayed. He's not a giant, per se, but he's the tallest and most muscular of the heroes. This doesn't stop him from being a calm Nice Guy.
Lead You Can Relate To: The characters are, to put it simply, a major Dysfunction Junction at best, with problems, eccentricities and moralities that vary wildly and abnormally. Silas, who while not the main protagonist, was intentionally designed after one, comes off as the most relatable, with a conventional mindset, personality and moral compass, and his quirks are more subdued in comparison to the rest of the Spectrums. Ironically, he sees himself as a "side character" because of this.
Mellow Fellow: He's calm, cheerful and very relaxed, being rather hard to annoy.
Mighty Glacier: Silas may be Strong and Skilled, and his Natura shield is almost as strong as your average Prime's, but he is incredibly slow, and wields a heavy weapon.
Mutual Envy: With Valerie. While he envies her for having a well-off life, she envies his confidence and conviction in his choices.
Nice Guy: He's pretty friendly, and is consistently very considerate of the feelings of others. He shows himself to be more willing to hear Inigo out compared to Azurine when the pair learns of Inigo's amnesia, and chooses not to force Valerie to elaborate on her job at Libera more than she is willing to.
Only Sane Man: He's much less crazy and off-the-wall than Azurine is, but also lacks Inigo's wonky morals and is much better in social interactions. Thus, he generally plays the voice of reason. This is especially prominent whenever Iago joins the three.
Parental Abandonment: Silas's father left him and his mother before Silas could really get to know him, which is the cause of his current dilemmas, including his poverty.
Plucky Comic Relief: Despite largely being the Straight Man, Silas is also the one you can count on to crack a joke.
Pungeon Master: While he also does references and Lampshade Hanging, Silas' expertise is by far his puns and dad jokes.
Real Men Eat Meat: Inverted. Despite being perhaps the most 'manly' character in the book so far, Silas is actually a vegetarian.
Real Men Wear Pink: Macho as he is, Silas still works as a barista, is an excellent cook, and has a generally gentle demeanour.
Sarcastic Devotee: Silas is very snarky when it comes to Azurine's zaniness, but he'd still follow her to the ends of the earth.
Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: The Savvy Guy to Azurine's Energetic Girl, being the calm, gentle Straight Man to her hotheaded, cheerful personality.
Verbal Tic: Tends to end his sentences with "you know?" even when doing so isn't strictly needed.
Virtuous Vegetarianism: Downplayed. Silas is a pretty cool guy and is always willing to help people. He's also canonically a vegetarian. These traits, however, are not shown to be linked in the slightest.

Iago Amino / "Devil's Spawn"

An eccentric young man with a flair for the dramatic, a love of poetry, and a strange fixation on Inigo. Iago, though not an official Spectrum, joins the group every now and then because he shares their goal of eliminating Libera, in his case to punish them for their crimes. Secretly the son of Apex's leader, he intends to eliminate both groups, viewing them as sinners.

Added Alliterative Appeal: When meeting Inigo for the first time, he does a long speech with plenty of alliteration of the letter I, as a Shout-Out to V for Vendetta.
Ambiguously Gay: Not only is he incredibly campy, but his interactions with Inigo are borderline-flirtatious in nature.
Anti-Hero: Make no mistake, Apex and Libera both need to be stopped, but the story contrasting Inigo's more merciful approach with Iago's Omnicidal Neutrality pushes him into this category.
Beware the Silly Ones: Iago is a very strange individual, speaking in overly-poetic terms and occasionally being a little disconnected from rational thought. He's also an incredibly powerful mage, dreaded by both Apex and Libera.
Camp Gay: He is incredibly flamboyant and somewhat effeminate both in appearance and mannerisms. While he's never shown any interest in the opposite sex, he does seem to have very vaguely-defined feelings for Inigo.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: His official colour is black. His outfits tend to feature black and white, with splashes of red.
Cultured Badass: Has a thing for, among other things, poetry, opera, fancy clothing, and reading in general.
Faux Affably Evil: For a given value of "evil", Iago is this, coming across as a snarky yet sophisticated gentleman even as he's mercilessly slaughtering members of Libera. It's more genuine when talking to Inigo, Silas or Azurine, though.
Gentleman Snarker: His brand of snark has him never lose his perennially polite demeanour or refined speech patterns, causing him to come off as this.
Large Ham: In excelsis! It's one of his most defining qualities, and serves as a contrast to the taciturn Inigo.
Loves Secrecy: Constantly keeps secrets and is very cagy with information, much to Inigo's irritation.
Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Well, Iago doesn't sound like the most inviting of names, and he's not above crossing a few lines to get what he wants.
Omnicidal Neutral: Iago is not aligned with either Apex or Libera, instead opposing both so that he can punish them all for their crimes.
Purple Prose: It's practically his first language, adding to his over-the-top persona.
Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Iago is a very talkative individual, using big words and a lot of them when smaller ones would suffice.
Sissy Villain: He has effeminate looks, a very refined (and even archaic) taste in clothing, a flamboyant personality and speech patterns, addresses Inigo with rather flirtatious language, and is Wicked Cultured, having a thing for poetry.

Libera

General

A mafia spread nebulously across Erdeland, known and feared by all, Libera seemingly aims to make money, but is in truth out to put a stop to the villainous Apex. Headed by Kotoba Kozuki, they are ruled with an iron fist in their desire to meet their agenda.

Aloof Leader, Affable Subordinate: Kotoba is fairly affable herself under certain circumstances, but she is nonetheless cold and dismissive of other people by default. Her underlings, especially those with names, are far more personable, with even Grant being convincingly Faux Affably Evil.
Anti-Villain: While there are bad eggs like Grant, the group as a whole, and generally on an individual basis, too, are this.
Appeal to Force: Enforced (pun not intended). Kotoba allows underlings who have crossed her to get off with lighter punishments if they willingly accept her challenge to single combat, as she respects the bravery of those who accept. Very few people take her up on this offer since she is The Dreaded, however.
Dysfunction Junction: Typically as a result of their pasts, they're more or less all messed up in one way or another.
Equal-Opportunity Evil: Kotoba doesn't really care who joins, as long as they do what she says and get results - she herself is from Han'ei, while Creed is half Erdelish, half Freesian, Grant and Scarlett are full Erdelish, and Valerie is Mortainian.
Evil Versus Evil: They are juxtaposed with Apex, who perform kidnappings, unethical experimentations and assassinations, but they themselves are guilty of similar kidnappings, organ trafficking and thievery.
Honor Among Thieves: Generally speaking, they are just loyal enough to their cause, each other, or their sense of self-preservation to avoid ratting one another out.
The Mafia: In effect, they are this, being an organised crime syndicate spanning most of Erdeland, with contacts and spies everywhere.
Trapped in Villainy: Generally speaking, loyalty is spread thin within Libera. Kotoba's tyrannical, punishment-based rule has left her respected and feared, but not loved among her allies, which leads to many of them feeling like the only reason they're still there is because they have a gun to their heads.

Scarlett Monarich / "Mata Hari"

A flirty, friendly, yet secretly insecure young woman, Scarlett is a member of Libera in charge of gathering information on and capturing their targets. Meeting Inigo, they get off on the wrong foot, and although she indirectly leads to him entering their crosshairs, they eventually manage to get along, leading to a rather peculiar dynamic.

Affably Evil: Is upbeat, personable and friendly, even flirty at times, most of which isn't an act, but she's still a member of Libera in the end.
All Women Are Lustful: Is perhaps the most perverted character in the story, frequently making passes at the people around her, particularly Inigo and Valerie.
Bad Liar: When Inigo pegs her as a member of Libera, Scarlett's attempt to deny it is fairly laughable even before he elaborates further.
Being Evil Sucks: You'd never know it from looking at her, and Scarlett herself isn't entirely aware at first, but living a life of evil has done quite a number on her self-esteem and general happiness. Though she numbs herself to her feelings because she's so focused on what those around her think about her, she starts to come to this realisation and enters a funk once she gets a taste of the light side. To quote Inigo, she "Flowers for Algernon'd her moral compass".
Beware the Nice Ones: She's very friendly and cheerful, but she's also a mobster and a very formidable combatant.
Big Damn Heroes: Saves Inigo twice - first against the Caricatures, and next against the Ravener.
Code Name: "Mata Hari".
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Her official colour, naturally, is red, and in her outfits, she wears it with splashes of black or pink.
Daddy's Little Villain: Downplayed. She would be this to Galileo, but she's nowhere near as evil as he is.
Dance Battler: Her fighting style is described as graceful, involving plenty of dancelike flips and twirls. Unlike Inigo, she isn't a capoeirista, but her swordplay is enough of a spectacle on its own.
Deadpan Snarker: Not quite as heavy on the 'deadpan' as the likes of Inigo, Valerie or Minori, but Scarlett is pretty good at piling on the snark.
Desperately Craves Affection: Due to having been starved of it in her youth, her biggest desire is the affection and approval of others. It's even why she joined Libera in the first place, since she saw it (sadly, correctly) as the only way for her father to acknowledge her.
Energetic and Soft-Spoken Duo: The Energetic to Valerie, Inigo and her father Grant's Soft-Spoken.
The Fashionista: Scarlett is generally described as having the chicest fashion choices out of the women in the story, with her outfits generally described as being of the eye-catching sort. Justified, given she's the most extroverted of the lot, compared to the shy Azurine, the apathetic Valerie and the stoic Minori.
Fiery Sensuality: Wields the element of fire in battle, and she also displays a flirtatious personality and a suggestive taste in clothing. Generally, this is downplayed, as it isn't quite the focus of her character.
Fragile Speedster: Can keep up with Inigo in the midst of a fight, but as an Adept, she's only slightly less frail than him.
Friendly Enemy: By their second meeting, she and Inigo are more frenemies than actual foes, being casual with one another even as they recognise that combat is inevitable.
The Gadfly: Likes casually poking fun at others, even if it's all in good fun.
Good Feels Good: Feels a lot better about herself after helping save Caerulus from the King Slime, which she comes to realise over time.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Despite being a villain, Scarlett is always very kind and easy to get along with, and her interactions with Inigo and her fellow Libera members show she is quite compassionate, too.
Hitman with a Heart: Scarlett is an intel gatherer who is responsible for allowing several kidnappings to happen, but she does, in fact, care deep down, even feeling remorseful for all her crimes.
In Love with the Mark: Sent to track down Inigo, Scarlett ends up bonding with him, with implied infatuation especially after he kickstarts her Character Development.
Like Parent, Like Child: Generally inverted, as Scarlett is as far from Grant as you can possibly get, but there is one noticeable similarity - their shared love of trolling those around them. The "playful look in his eyes" is even part of what gets Inigo to suspect that Grant is related to her.
Like Parent, Unlike Child: As noted above, Scarlett is pretty much the opposite of her dad. Where Grant is generally composed, Scarlett is a cheerful Genki Girl. Grant is arrogant and rude, and acts like The Gadfly to piss people off, while Scarlett is insecure and friendly, with her Gadfly tendencies being an honest attempt at humour.
Morality Pet:
- Downplayed in that he never shows any care or fondness for her either, but Scarlett is the only person Grant isn't openly contemptuous of.
- She also has one in Inigo, who she frequently goes behind Kotoba and Grant's backs to protect. Her interactions with him are, for a while, the only outlet she has for her repressed altruistic side.
Nice Girl: Beneath the shallow exterior, Scarlett is secretly a highly compassionate individual with a heart of gold.
Nice Mean And In Between: During the battle of Caerulus, Scarlett is the Nice to Makoto's Mean and Inigo's In-Between. She's bubbly and cheerful, and tries to speak on friendly terms with both of her allies; not to mention saving Caerulus was her idea to begin with.
Perky Female Minion: Kotoba's female, too, but Scarlett is much bouncier and more extroverted than her.
Sinister Scimitar: Wields a cutlass, and is an antagonistic member of Libera,
Stripperiffic: Her preferred attire is of the revealing sort.
The Tease: Likes to make suggestive remarks to people she likes, though of the people she's done it to so far, Inigo is too oblivious and Valerie is too apathetic, so it flies over their heads.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Moderate Girly Girl to Valerie's Effeminate Tomboy, as Scarlett wears more fashionable clothing, has longer hair, is more stereotypically feminine, and is a graceful Dance Battler.
Villainous Friendship: She and Valerie have a pretty good friendship going on, both being members of Libera. The two of them are also in a group chat with Creed, showing they get along with him, too.
When She Smiles: An odd variant, as Scarlett is a Perpetual Smiler, but it's usually of the stepford variety. When she gives a genuine, euphoric smile in Chapter 31, even Inigo can't help but be momentarily distracted.

Valerie Stanlion

A friend of Scarlett's within Libera, who seems lazy and unmotivated, but hides a will of steel beneath her apathetic demeanour. In truth, Valerie is a former member of Apex, Libera's enemy, who defected in an attempt to oppose Benjamin and convince him to give up on his evil plans.

Affably Evil: Despite being a member of Libera, Valerie is chill, friendly and generally rather cool to hang out with.
Boyish Short Hair: Her hair style is referred to as a bixie cut, making it rather short, and she's perhaps the most "macho"-presenting character in the story save for Silas.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: Her official colour is green, and in her outfits she leans towards green and brown.
Deadpan Snarker: Stands out as one of the snarkier characters in the story, and is noticeably more 'deadpan' than most, saying sarcastic remarks with a straight face.
Energetic and Soft-Spoken Duo: The Soft-Spoken to Scarlett's Energetic.
Lady Looks Like a Dude: Downplayed, but she is shown to be mistaken in-universe for a male.
Lightning Bruiser: It comes with being a Prime. Valerie is very strong and fast, and her Natura shield is very sturdy as well, balanced out by her lack of elemental abilities.
Mutual Envy: With Silas. While he envies her for having a well-off life, she envies his confidence and conviction in his choices.
Non-Elemental: As a Prime, Valerie cannot access any elemental magic.
The Slacker: Laziness is a key trait of hers - she never does anything for Libera unless directly ordered to.
Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Effeminate Tomboy to Scarlett's Moderate Girly Girl. Valerie is more mannish, lazy, blunt, has short hair, and is more of a martial artist - all of which are the opposite of Scarlett.

Kotoba's Inner Circle

General

The three most notable and powerful figures within Libera.

Combat and Support: Creed fills the role of Combat, as his role is more or less gathering data on Libera's enemies through fighting them and finding the best way to conquer them. Grant, meanwhile, is Support, as he is in charge of the financial side of things, his role being more indirect through shadow-conquering Ruben Town and funding Libera's operations with his black market sales. Kotoba is a mix of both - while she is easily Libera's strongest fighter, she also runs logistics and plans most of their criminal activities.
Freudian Trio: It varies from time to time, but the general layout is Creed (Id), Grant (Superego) and Kotoba (Ego).
Nice Mean And In Between: Creed is Nice, being friendly and cheerful, even casually chatting to his enemies before fighting them, while Grant is Mean, being the most openly cruel and sadistic, as well as being generally unfriendly and purposely annoying. Kotoba herself is In-Between, as she generally shows respect to her enemies while treating her allies with a somewhat fair but very firm hand.
Not So Above It All: While imposing figures, they all have their goofier qualities. Kotoba's case is more understated, as she presents herself seriously, but almost all of the code names seen in the story were devised by her. Creed doesn't even try to appear intimidating, coming off as more of a lighthearted and goofy figure even around people who know he's a gangster. Grant seems stoic and professional, but in addition to having a petty side, he also makes a lot of cat puns seemingly just to piss people off.
Terrible Trio: Kotoba is the ringleader, with Creed and Grant as her Co-Dragons. They're played more seriously than usual, though they're not without their comedic moments.

Kotoba Kozuki / "The Mikado"

The stern, stoic leader of Libera, known also as "the Mikado". Kotoba leads her men with an iron fist, aiming to be harsh, but fair. Looming over all of Erdeland, she zeroes in on Inigo and his friends once she learns he is active, seemingly having some personal business with him, who she has called the "Red Joker".

The Baroness: Definitely a Rosa Klebb, being thirty without ever getting married, an Ice Queen, and a genuine Big Bad as opposed to a minion. It helps that she is generally considered more masculinely attractive, so one is unlikely to mistake her for a Sexpot type.
Bifauxnen: Is described as looking more like a handsome man than a pretty woman.
Big Bad: The primary antagonistic force, being the leader of Libera who wishes to capture and kill Inigo.
Contralto of Strength: Her voice is outright described as a contralto on numerous occasions, and she is very powerful.
Dark Action Girl: A woman, and a very powerful and skilled combatant.
The Dreaded: The Mikado is feared across all of Erdeland.
Faux Affably Evil: Kotoba has a perennially calm demeanour and a polite way of speaking, which she barely sheds even as she's ordering evil deeds or dishing out punishments - even the cruel ones, making her moments of genuine anger even scarier.
Hidden Depths: Apparently has an interest in engineering, of all things.
Irony: Is the leader of Libera, the name of which means 'freedom', but she rules with an iron fist and only gives her underlings a little more freedom than is strictly necessary.
Manipulative Bitch: Has Grant's fear-sowing technique perfected to an art form. Through conversational threats, genuine punishments and her ruthless demeanour, she builds up an image of a terrifying kingpin with no remorse, spreading fear in the hearts of all of Erdeland and playing on this fear to get people to do as she wants. She even manages to use the fallout from Grant's Villainous Breakdown to secure his obedience, claiming that his wife would be ashamed to look at him now.
Necessarily Evil: Believes that her villainy is a necessary measure in the name of her goals - to stop Apex, to keep Libera running, and to maintain order among her men. She notably also believes in limiting the extent of her evil to that which is strictly necessary for any given task, and admonishes Grant for his needless cruelty.
The Nicknamer: Kotoba has a strange penchant for code names, which she gives to almost anyone tangentially related to the Apex-Libera conflict.
The One Thing I Don't Hate About You: While Grant's arrogance, smugness, disrespect and sadism frequently get on Kotoba's nerves, she does admit that his willingness to criticise her and her plans is an admirable and actually helpful quality.
Pet the Dog: Basically anything she does with Creed can be considered this. Even if she doesn't fully understand why he sticks around her so much, she clearly cares deeply about him, treating him better than the rest of Libera. Heck, the reason he's even in the group is because she reached out to an impoverished Creed, promising him a better life.
The Queenpin: Leads the crime group Libera, not letting her gender affect anything or bring her down.
Red Baron: "The Mikado".
Tsurime Eyes: Her eyes are frequently compared with those of an eagle.

Creed Lugalbanda / "Coyote"

Kotoba's consigliere and greatest enforcer. Creed is a surprisingly friendly man who stands out for his loyalty to Kotoba, eternally grateful to all she has done for him. He loves nothing more than a good fight, a trait which serves Libera well in gathering data on their opponents.

Affably Evil: Creed is a chipper and upbeat man who doesn't even try to act like a scary gangster, instead preferring to make small talk with his enemies. He also treats those lower-down in Libera than him with respect and kindness.
Animal Motifs: Dogs and canines in general. He is prone to snarling and growling when mad, his code name is "Coyote", he is typically rather unrefined in his mannerisms, he is characterised by his friendliness and his extreme loyalty to Kotoba, and the chapter where he is properly introduced is titled "The Hound".
Animorphism: Can use a partial example as his Adept ability, swapping his body parts with animal body parts to aid him in battle. It's likely that this is where his codename of "Coyote" comes from.
Blood Knight: Creed loves a good fight, to the point that Kotoba can accurately predict when he's going to request to be sent in for one.
Blow You Away: While he usually fights using his Adept powers, the few elemental attacks he uses are wind-based.
Code Name: "Coyote".
Co-Dragons: He and Grant are about as high-up in Libera as one another, both being directly below Kotoba.
Dumb Muscle: Ultimately subverted despite appearances. He seems to be a simple guy who thinks of nothing but combat, but as his role in Libera shows, he's rather shrewd.* Evil Redhead: Affable as he is, he's still a willing enforcer of Kotoba's will, and he has red hair.
Fiery Redhead: Again, he has red hair, and he's not only a Keet with a fight-happy streak, but he's also capable of flying into Unstoppable Rage at his worst.
Keet: Very excitable and friendly to those around him, almost like an excited puppy.
Morality Pet: Creed is Kotoba's. While he doesn't have much effect on her criminal activities, she nonetheless cares greatly for him, and many of her kindest moments happen because of him.
My Master, Right or Wrong: He doesn't disagree with Valerie's assessment that Kotoba's methods are wrong, but simply tells her that it's not their place to ask questions.
Prefers Going Barefoot: Doesn't wear shoes, most likely to make his animorphism ability more convenient for him.
Satellite Character: Downplayed, since he does have his own Hidden Depths, but he is still primarily defined by his relationship with Kotoba.
Smarter Than You Look: While seeming like a simpleminded ditz, Creed is a lot sharper than most give him credit for. Not only does he quickly catch on to the fact that Grant is hiding something, but his role within Libera requires plenty of brains - he gives insights on Kotoba's plans, and his picking fights with Libera's targets is done in the name of gathering combat data, showing he is incredibly observant. He also isn't brainlessly following Kotoba's orders like most think - he does have his reservations about the deeds he does, but puts up with it out of genuine loyalty to and admiration for her.
Those Wily Coyotes: He's not actually a coyote, but he often takes the form of one, and it's his codename. He's also much cleverer and craftier than he looks, and is the closest thing Libera has to comic relief.
Undying Loyalty: Ever since Kotoba defeated him and offered him a better life in Libera, Creed has been as loyal as humanly possible to her, sticking around as her Number Two and serving as a more empathetic shoulder for her to lean on.
Villainous Friendship: He can often be seen hanging out with Valerie, and is on good terms with Scarlett. Aside from that, however, he's also a good friend to Kotoba, whether she realises it or not.

Grant Monarich / "Galileo"

Another enforcer among Libera, financially backing their operations through his dealings in the Black Market, Grant Monarch is a notably cruel man who revels in the paranoia he has sown across Ruben Town. He despises Kotoba, but works with her begrudgingly out of their common goal - to avenge their loved ones by killing Benjamin Amino.

Adaptational Personality Change: In exchange for being less slimy and personally manipulative, Grant is much more of a contemptuous troll with a Smug Snake streak. He's less prone to anger, and his fury is more tranquil compared to pre-rewrite Grant - though no less destructive. He's also less consistently but more convincingly Faux Affably Evil than before, and his sadism is much less pronounced.
Animal Motifs: Contrasting Creed's overt dog motif, Grant is more subtly associated with cats. He is very refined and arrogant, his personality is conniving, cruel and, well, catty, and he makes plenty of cat puns, as well as making it his goal to sniff out any "rats" within Ruben.
Attack! Attack! Attack!: As a powerful Natural, his Natura shield is actually rather strong, but he doesn't have any effective defensive maneuvers save for wreathing himself in flames, and he isn't very mobile, either. Thus, he focuses exclusively on attacking the opponent, overwhelming them with flames and explosions so they can barely get an attack in edgewise.
Awesome, but Impractical:
- His explosions are very powerful, and just a single hit almost breaks Inigo's shield, but there is a slight delay between the snapping of his fingers and the combustion, during which the blast radius is heated up. This makes his attacks rather telegraphed, and a sufficiently speedy opponent can escape with little harm.
- He can power up his explosions even more by pumping his body full of Natura, but doing this is all but stated to hurt him, too. Silas even observes this during the battle of Ruben, noting that while the damage done to his shield is truly impressive, and the attack shattered both Azurine and Jude's shields (the latter barely having taken any damage up to this point), the attack obviously took a lot of wind out of Grant, and he doesn't expect him to be able to repeat it.
Badass in a Nice Suit: Has only been seen in one outfit, a red business suit (albeit partially unbuttoned and without a tie), and he isn't half bad in combat.
Boss's Unfavorite Employee: His disdain for Kotoba is clearly mutual, and while she isn't petty enough to let this affect their interactions too much, she grieves the minutes lost in conversation with him in private.
Catchphrase Insult:
- Inverted. The word "asshole" is used constantly and near-exclusively in reference to him, making him an Insult Phrase Catcher.
- On his part, he's rather fond of using the term "rat" to admonish someone.
Cats Hate Water: In spirit, at least. He has a strong motif of cats, and his response to Inigo splashing him with water is utter disgust.
Character Catchphrase: "A cat in gloves catches no mice."
Code Name: "Galileo".
Cosmic Motifs: Between his massive ego, his codename being the name of a scientist who studied heliocentrism, and his Elemental Powers being based around fire and light, he has a subtle but still present Sun motif.
Evil Is Petty: Being more selfish than Kotoba, Grant is rather prone to this. A good example of this is his pursuit of Inigo; terrorising an entire street, setting traps around Ruben, and hiring a Spree Killer to kill him when the first two fail, which doesn't seem so bad until Scarlett points out that he should put this much effort into trying to catch Iago, who is a much greater and longer-standing threat to their cause. Grant's response is to scoff at that idea, because the idea of losing his hold over Ruben pisses him off.
Dragon with an Agenda: Downplayed. He does want the same thing as Kotoba, but his reasons are entirely separate, wanting nothing but revenge, as opposed to his boss, who is a genuine Well-Intentioned Extremist on some level.
Fatal Flaw:
- Of all things, being a Neat Freak, though this mainly applies in battle. Grant values his image and cleanliness, and can be easily distracted if that is compromised. Inigo exploits this by shooting water at him and pelting him with debris, allowing him further opportunities to attack.
- His excessive need to win is another flaw of his exploited by Inigo, with much more drastic consequences. He really doesn't like people cottoning onto his plans, so when Inigo continues to do so, it drives him to drastic measures to get rid of him, even ignoring Scarlett's point that Iago is a much more apparent threat to focus on, and one where killing him likely won't incur Kotoba's wrath. Inigo realises this, and sets a plan in motion to expose him by having Azurine covertly investigate his house. When she, Silas and Jude get caught, Inigo then reveals it was his idea all along, knowing that the knowledge that he's been thoroughly outsmarted by the rat he's been so desperately hunting would drive him past the deep end. The resulting reckless power usage leads to the people of Ruben realising that Grant was the one behind the white-flame explosions, thus successfully exposing him.
Faux Affably Evil: Grant Monarich is a polite individual, acting like a member of Ruben's community and even having a playful side, but behind it lies a despicable sociopath who revels in pain and suffering, and enjoys using said playful side to viciously mock his victims to draw out their suffering.
Foil: To Inigo. Both are manipulative, secretive schemers who frequently butt heads with their leaders and frequently operate behind their backs, and both are the most amoral members of their respective groups. Where Grant prefers to set things up in advance, Inigo stumbles across situations and expertly weaves his way out of them. Both possess similarly dry personalities, but while Grant is openly contemptuous of those around him, Inigo is more playful in his sarcasm and rarely seems to bear anyone ill will. Grant is characterised by his love of secrets and hates people snooping around, while Inigo is naturally curious and tends to do said snooping as a result, which is what puts the two at odds. And this isn't getting into the fact that Inigo is a much better person than Grant - where Inigo does his best to avoid killing people, Grant defaults to it. More overtly, they have a Fire/Water Juxtaposition and opposing Animal Motifs (cats for Grant, owls for Inigo), and their fighting styles are opposite, as Inigo focuses on fast, weak blows to whittle the opponent down, and avoids taking damage through acrobatics making him hard to hit, while Grant uses strong, singular attacks, and his fighting style is much more stationary, while he avoids taking damage by overwhelming the opponent so much they have little room to retaliate.
Friend in the Black Market: He's one to Libera in general, being their chief financial backer and the one with the closest relationships to other organised crime groups.
Hurricane of Puns: Whenever he does this, it usually means he's about to try and kill someone.
If I Can't Have You…: Non-romantic, object example. When Grant realises he can't control the town of Ruben anymore, he thinks nothing of burning it all down to try and draw out Inigo.
Jerkass: To those he doesn't feel like feigning politeness to, Grant is very contemptuous and unpleasant.
Laughably Evil: While a cruel person with very few redeeming qualities, his snarky demeanour and penchant for bad puns can make him come across as funny to some.
Manipulative Bastard: He has covertly sown an atmosphere of fear into the entire town of Ruben.
More Despicable Minion: While Kotoba is an Anti-Villain with multiple redeeming qualities and sympathetic moments, Grant never shows anything of the sort. He instead shows himself to be a massive asshole and the only blatantly sadistic member of Libera.
Not So Aboveit All: As a skilled user of Fire Natura, Grant can regulate his body temperature like Scarlett can, but opposite to her, he uses this to keep himself cool so he can wear his suits all year round.
Older Than They Look: He's in his early forties, but it's mentioned that his pretty, clean-shaven look makes him appear somewhat younger.
Parental Neglect: His obsession with defeating Apex led him to neglect Scarlett growing up, leading to her thirst for affection in the present day. Even in the present, Grant keeps Scarlett at arm's length emotionally, acting dismissive of her opinions, referring to her by her Code Name and treating her more like a secretary than a daughter.
Pungeon Master: Likes to make puns to troll people.
Sacred Flames: Can create these by combining his Fire and Light elements, an ability exclusive to skilled Naturals. They are, naturally, white.
Smug Snake: Grant's default demeanour is very smug, and he does have some noticeable intelligence, what with how he manages to sow his atmosphere of distrust and fear around Ruben while remaining Hidden in Plain Sight. What keeps him out of Magnificent Bastard territory is his overconfidence, as when Azurine presents him with proof of his wrongdoing, he smugly taunts her about how nobody is going to believe her, clearly confident in his ability to keep things hidden up until Inigo reveals it was all part of his plan. Cue an impressive and very destructive Villainous Breakdown on his part.
The Sociopath: He genuinely loves his wife, so he's not a perfect example, but he otherwise fits this to a T. Grant is incredibly manipulative, both of his daughter and of the entirety of Ruben. He kills without remorse and has no emotional reaction beyond sadism to his vile deeds. He is very arrogant, too, viewing his victims like "rats" to be crushed at any opportunity, and his need for stimulation shows itself in his unmistakably bored demeanour when not actively doing something evil.
Sore Loser: Hates the fact that Inigo survived their first encounter and his subsequent attempts to get him killed, to the point that he continually expends resources just to get him to stop.
Token Evil Teammate: Libera is ultimately a Well-Intentioned Extremist organisation, and its members are of the likeable sort, as shown with Kotoba, Creed, Valerie and Scarlett. And then we have Grant, an unrepentant murderer and abuser willing to destroy an entire town just to get his way.
Trap Master: Managed to set up traps around Ruben Town for Inigo to fall for. Most of these were of the explosive kind.
The Unfettered: Lives by the saying "A cat in gloves catches no mice" very well, and will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve any one goal.
Unskilled, but Strong: Grant commands some very powerful Natura abilities, but he rarely shows creativity in their use unless forced. Typically, his approach to a battle seems to be "overwhelm the opponent with explosions and big flame attacks", and he doesn't seem to have any melee fighting ability, as shown when Inigo manages to get in close.

Apex

Makoto Kozuki / "Dawnspear"

A brash and hot-headed young man, yet somewhat dorky and awkward off the job, Makoto is a member of Apex whose role is gathering intelligence. Lately, however, he has been shirking his duties to pursue the man who killed his father - Inigo Lenahan, who he follows across Erdeland as the first major obstacle to his goals.

Accuser of the Brethren: Inigo is sincerely remorseful about killing Makoto's father, but Makoto seems to wilfully ignore this to focus on his revenge.
Adaptational Wimp: His Aura Vision and Living Lie Detector abilities from the previous rewrite are no longer innate powers of his, instead being stored in a Deistone, and his Wings of Justice spell has been reworked into his Adept ability.
Affably Evil: When Inigo isn't around, Makoto shows himself to be a kind and considerate man, and a bit of a dork when interacting with others. Even when he's pissed off, he does try to negotiate (though his uncompromising personality does get in the way of this). None of this changes the fact that he's an Apex loyalist.
Badass in a Nice Suit: Wears a formal suit and a tie even while fighting.
Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: His official colour is orange, and he usually wears it alongside white.
Cowardice Callout: Constantly does this to Inigo. Whether he actually qualifies as one is up for interpretation.
Dehumanization: Insistently refers to Inigo as a "monster" or a "coward", most likely to make it easier to kill him.
Everyone Has Standards: Though he has absolutely no issue with taking lethal action in the name of revenge, he considers putting innocents in the crossfire to be a step too far, and actively avoids getting others involved in his revenge quest.
The Fettered: In stark contrast to Kotoba. Makoto's sense of justice is his motivation, which drives him to move forward and continue. Any limits and personal morals he sets for himself only drive him to enforce this even further.
Glass Cannon: Hits like an absolute truck with his spear, but he is an Adept, and thus doesn't take hits too well.
The Heavy: Is the main antagonistic force Inigo faces throughout Ocean of Hues.
Hero Antagonist: While the first major antagonist in Inigo's path, Makoto isn't actually a bad person, Apex work aside. He's trying to kill him, yes, but he does so in order to avenge his father, who Inigo is genuinely guilty of murdering, and as the battle against the King Slime in Caerulus shows, he does have it in him to perform genuine heroics.
Honor Before Reason: Makoto has a very strong code of honour, which prevents him from doing things like causing collateral damage, getting outsiders involved in his feud, and fighting pragmatically. That last one bites him in the ass several times, since he usually fights Inigo, for whom pragmatism is practically law.
Inspector Javert: He will always pursue Inigo no matter how much good he's doing, and will never give him even the slightest benefit of the doubt.
Jerkass to One: While Makoto is fairly friendly towards most people despite his occupation, he is incredibly hostile and aggressive towards Inigo.
Kick the Dog: Angrily dismisses Inigo's assertion that he needs to know what he is by declaring that all he is is a murderer, something we, the reader, know that Inigo has something of a complex over.
Never Hurt an Innocent: A trait of his that separates him from his sister. Makoto will go above and beyond to ensure that nobody except Inigo himself gets hurt in his quest for revenge.
Nice Mean And In Between: During the battle of Caerulus, Makoto is the Mean to Scarlett's Nice and Inigo's In-Between. Not only was he the most reluctant to team up in the first place, he insists on remaining formal and somewhat snippy with the other two.
Nice Guy: Despite his unfortunate allegiance, he's actually one of the nicer characters in the book, and it's no act, either. He's only really unpleasant to Minori, a Yandere and borderline sociopath, and Inigo, who killed his father.
Practically Different Generations: Makoto is an entire 11 years younger than Kotoba, his sister.
Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to Inigo's Blue Oni. Whenever the two of them interact, Makoto tends to let his emotions overcome him, mostly expressing anger. Inigo, on the other hand, tends to suppress his, with only remorse getting through. In interactions with other people, Inigo, though snappy, is nonchalant and relaxed, while Makoto is more dorky and expressive.
Scarily Competent Tracker: Actually subverted. The story frequently shows that despite his relentless pursuit of Inigo, Makoto isn't actually that great of a tracker, and most of their encounters come as a sheer coincidence rather than Makoto successfully following him.
Sore Loser: Generally speaking, he doesn't take defeat very well, especially when fighting against someone he deems dishonourable.
Starter Villain: The first serious threat Inigo faces in his quest for his memories, but is by far the least evil and dangerous.
You Killed My Father: His main motivation. Inigo killed his father, and now Makoto's out for revenge.

Others

Jude Williams

A young priest residing in Ruben. Though not natively involved in any of the conflicts, he finds himself dragged in through his involvement with Inigo, who uses him as a confidant for his plan to free Ruben from Grant Monarich's hold. He is a friend of Silas and Azurine's, interacting with them to update them on Ruben's situation.

Badass Bookworm: While not much of a direct combatant, Jude is much cleverer than you'd expect, making preparations to patch up things that Inigo didn't or couldn't account for.
The Confidant: He's the one Iago confides all his knowledge of his battles with Libera with. He later becomes this to Inigo, though the latter hides a lot more information than he lets him in on.
Mellow Fellow: Getting an emotional response out of him is very difficult - even as he goes on the run against Libera's forces and is scared for his life, he still remains stoically nonchalant about his circumstances.
Nice Guy: He is rather friendly and approachable, fitting for a pious priest who believes in what he preaches.
Non-Action Guy: Downplayed. He can fight to an extent, but he's nowhere near the level of the Spectrums and cannot fight off Libera's forces in large numbers like Inigo does daily. This, coupled with the target on his back, is why Inigo relegates him to a stealth role in his plan.
Odd Friendship: His friendship with Inigo in particular falls under this. Jude is a mellow, spacey Preacher Man, whereas Inigo is an icy Nay-Theist.
Support Party Member: His fighting style is to use his light magic to make distractions and openings for his more powerful allies to deal damage.
Throwing Down The Bomblet: Magical variant - he makes use of a lot of Natura crystals, throwing them at the opponent to produce various elemental effects.
Turbulent Priest: Devout follower of the Two Dei, and is one of the few citizens of Ruben actively doing anything about their town's situation.
Twofer Token Minority: Not only is he black, but he's also the Token Religious Teammate.

The Ravener

A "fixer" for the Tori-tachi, who goes by the alias "The Ravener" when performing his business, he also moonlights as a Spree Killer, capable of slaughtering people in droves. He makes his debut when Grant Monarich hires him to kill Inigo, and from there grows fascinated with his ability and will to survive, viewing it as his personal challenge to work out how to kill Inigo once and for all.

Ax-Crazy: More calculating and lucid than the norm, but his love for murder and disregard for the idea that other people deserve to live definitely takes him out of the "sane" category.
Corporate Samurai: His role within the Tori-tachi in a nutshell, being an assassin who cleans up after their messes.
Dissonant Serenity: Despite the dangerous situations that he causes, he's still very chatty and emotionally level.
Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Of the 'sick and twisted' variety, considering he makes witty jokes and puns about how he's going to kill (or has already killed) someone.
Faux Affably Evil: His exterior demeanour is cheerful, talkative and casual, always ready with a joke and a pun. Unlike, say, Galileo, he doesn't seem to be actively faking it, either, and isn't using it as a way to smugly taunt his enemies - that is to say, any taunts he makes are upfront without being smothered in fake-politeness. Far from being a redeeming quality, however, these traits only highlight just how little he thinks of the prospect of murdering someone, and how divorced he is from anything resembling empathy or morality.
Fragile Speedster: Is about as fast as Inigo, but is arguably even more frail once his intangibility is worked around.
Flaw Exploitation: Takes advantage of Inigo's boundless curiosity to lure him into the house where he can kill him.
Giggling Villain: In lieu of an Evil Laugh, he instead does a lot of amused chuckling.
Know When to Fold 'Em: He knows when he's beat. When Scarlett and Inigo find a way to turn his intangibility into a disadvantage, he realises he's been beat and makes a break for it.
Lack of Empathy: Feels absolutely nothing for his victims
Laughably Evil: Fittingly for a Joker expy, he can actually be pretty funny with his love of puns and his cheerfully matter-of-fact demeanour towards the senseless deaths of others, but he's also one of the worst people in the whole story.
The Law of Diminishing Defensive Effort: Realising that this is in effect is how Inigo manages to defeat him - he realises that while the Ravener simply turns on his intangibility to allow Inigo’s physical attacks to harmlessly pass through him, he’s actively dodging his Natura attacks, and correctly concludes that he’s only doing that because those attacks can actually hurt him even with his powers active.
Older Hero Versus Younger Villain: Inigo isn't particularly aged himself, but the Ravener is eighteen at most.
Psycho Knife Nut: Wields a pair of daggers, and he's completely off his rocker.
Pungeon Master: Loves his puns, making quite a few of them. Some of them aren't even crow-themed.
Ravener: Nice scarf, Joker! Looking forward to the fall? ^note
Inigo: It's called autumn, damn it.
Spree Killer: Kills a large amount of Aurum City's population within a few hours. When Inigo confronts him on being a Serial Killer, the Ravener retorts that no, he's one of these instead, and gleefully explains the difference.
Inigo: So you're the serial killer, right?
Ravener: 'Serial killer' would imply a set MO or a cooling-off period between the murders - a string of individual killings over a long course of time, often in different places! As these people died in the space of a few hours in a variety of ways, the term you're looking for is spree killer.
Inigo: Good to know.
Weak to Magic: Downplayed as it doesn't hurt him significantly more, but Natura attacks are the only things that can hurt him when he's intangible.
White Hair, Black Heart: Has white hair, and unlike Inigo, his soul is black as tar.

Characters / The Spectrum Game

The Spectrums

Libera

Kotoba's Inner Circle

Apex

Others

Previous

Index

Next

Characters / The Spectrum Game

Edit Locked

The Spectrums

Libera

Kotoba's Inner Circle

Apex

Others

Previous

Index

Next