Nikolai

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko
A.K.A.	Filius Nefastus Phantom Killer Nelo Rinnegato
Age	26
Voice Actor	Tomokazu Sugita
Relatives	Vergil Sparda (biological father) Natalya Nikolaiyevna Yevtushenko (mother) Aleksandr Petrovich Yevtushenko (step-father)
Series	Devil May Cry
Player	Paul (Exacerangutan)

• Name: Nikolai Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko
• Age: 26
• Sex: Male
• Birthday: August 5th
• Parents: Vergil Sparda and a succubus who later took the name Natalya Nikolaiyevna Petrov
  • Place of Birth: The Devil World
  • Nationality: Russian
  • Specialty: Swordsmanship, Occultism
  • Hobbies: Driving fast, drinking heavily, cooking, reading
  • Likes: Humans, high-quality cigarettes, fast cars, city life, women who remind him of his mother
  • Dislikes: Cynicism; "Devilish" behavior such as senseless cruelty, selfishness, and destruction of beautiful things
  • Favorite Food: A wide variety of traditional Russian dishes matushka used to make
  • Least Favorite Food: Fast food and junk food
  • Favorite Music: Anything extremely dramatic and passionate, including a lot of Russian music; would probably love super robot music, too.
  • Favorite Sport: Street racing, european football
  • Most Valuable Possessions: Souped-up sports car
  • Level of Education: MAs in Ancient History, Linguistics, and Classical Art, as well as some home-schooling
  • Seiyuu/Voice Actor:

• Physical Stats
  • Height: 6'2"
  • Weight: 190lbs
  • Eyes: Blue (concealed behind red-lensed sunglasses)
  • Hair: White (dyed black like normal people's hair)

• PARADIGM Record:
  • Joined: Apr. 1st 2012
  • Missions: 18 (1 S, 4 A, 10 B, 3 C)
  • Income: 28.0M¥ ($280k)

Appearance

Nikolai usually wears his hair just past shoulder-length, and prefers to dress in a casual but super-snappy fashion. He almost always wears John Lennons with red tinted lenses, and he's almost always smoking super-premier cigarettes. He has a sort of European Playboy posh, model-y handsomeness, being the son of a succubus, but he's too casual and outgoing to come off with the usual haughty or aloof character. His relatively light build conceals his strength well, although he is extremely well-toned like he's built for endurance and finesse rather than brute force. Due to his maternal heritage and years of submerging his Devil side, Nikolai can mask his supernatural presence exceptionally well, as long as he isn't making use of any of his inhuman gifts. Most Devil-detectors will totally miss him, and without the most intensive of examinations would at most probably find him 'strange' or perhaps conclude that he had been in recent contact with demons or something with demonic ties, which shouldn't be surprising for an occultist.

Personality

Raised by his mother, who had come to hate the crushing darkness of Devil World society, such as it was, Nikolai came to be a true lover of humanity and its vast potential, a large part of what inspired him to study classical history and art. His internal relationship to humanity is peculiar: on the one hand, he sees humans like younger siblings, either amused or saddened at their antics--on the other, he idolizes humanity's freedom, goodness, and great works of art and philosophy. In his efforts to immerse himself completely in the small portion of humanity inherited from his father's side, Nikolai does everything he can to treat life like a game played for the sake of everyone having a good time.

Background

Spoilers version:

[show details]

In order to ensure that he would always have a descendent of Sparda at his disposal, Mundus arranged for Vergil Sparda, mindwashed into the Dark Knight known as Nelo Angelo, to be mated to a powerful succubus. Two months after the defeat of Mundus' forces at Mallet Island, including the death of Nelo Angelo, Vergil's son was born in the Devil World. The child was taken away by the highest of Mundus' followers for preparation as a new Dark Champion, and his mother, being a powerful demoness, was more interested in the elevated esteem she gained for her service. From birth, the child was subjected to rituals and dark alchemical procedures intended to make a perfect warrior of him, by joining him symbiotically to an experimental Devil Arm crafted from the remains of the artifical Devil called Nightmare. Rather than a human name, he was given the title Filius Nefastus (the Unholy Son). From when he was old enough to speak, he was educated in hatred for the uncle who had murdered his father, and trained in swordsmanship by demon generals, and raised brutally for a life of mercilessness. As he grew and gained strength, his warders pushed him relentlessly, exposing him to the harshest environments of the Devil World to forge him into a new Dark Knight.

By the time the boy-demon was eleven years old, he was already powerful enough to be dangerous to his warders, and he bristled with such diabolic fury that they were hard-pressed to control him. To direct his fearsome energy, which was becoming a liability, they began sending him on missions to destroy rebels against Lord Mundus' stewards (i.e. deserters in the wake of the Mallet Island fiasco), and more than one of these missions nearly cost him his life. During one of these near-fatal missions, when he was 13 years old, he slew the magma demon known as Phantom, he earned the title Phantom-Killer.

At about the same time, his mother took on a new mission to strike back against Dante for the Mallet Island defeat, only partially satisfied by the death of the traitorous witch Trish. To make Dante suffer, they called in their expert succubus to employ a cunning plan--after gaining a lock of his hair, she would use an enhancing ritual to enter Dante's dreamscape while he was in a moment of uncertainty, and disguising herself as Trish, guided him, somnambulating, into his sleeping son's room; manipulating his dreams so that he could only see Mundus in place of Luca, and Trish in the Devil's clutches, implored him to strike. The plan almost worked. As Dante stood over Luca, the boy opened his eyes--the same impossible blue as Dante's and his mother's--and the flood of emotionally charged images startled the succubus, breaking her control and driving her out. Dante woke instantly, realizing what had happened, said nothing to Luca, leaving the boy confused and annoyed at being bothered in the middle of the night for nothing; it was shortly afterward that Dante sent Luca off to military academy.

The succubus came to in the Devil World, dazed and disoriented, with a head full of bewildering, unfamiliar images. The left the ritual circle in a confused fury, blaming her assistants and some unexpected source of interference for her failure, but she was haunted by the thoughts that had bombarded her from Dante: images of Dante and his mother, the tenderness of that maternal connection, the liberating, overwhelming inspiration to protect one's child. She suddenly awakened to a previously unidentified dull ache that, as a Devil, she had ignored along with the rest of the emotional barrenness of life in the Devil World for thirteen years, and came to a conclusion: she had to see her son. Thinking she just needed to 'scratch the itch,' she used her experience and understanding of Dante, she needed a powerful Devil with a family tie to Dante in order to complete the mission--eventually convinced of this, the leaders of the Stewardship Cult gave her custody over and responsibility for Filius Nefastus, the Phantom Killer. However, rather than 'getting over it,' her close contact with the boy only infuriated her as she learned about his treatment, and without clearly understanding why she suddenly cared, the began to plan their escape.

Within a year, the succubus had used her status and power to arrange passage to Earth, claiming it was part of a new plan to eliminate the terrestrial descendents of Sparda, reserving that power for Mundus' command; however, upon their arrival on Earth, the boy and his mother fled at once, traveling across multiple national boundaries and surviving on the succubus' wit, charm, and other characteristic assets until she was able to earn them Russian citizenship by seducing a wealthy, powerful man by the name Aleksandr Feodorovich Yevtushenko by claiming to be a Ukrainian national from the countryside (where records-keeping was often shoddy) named Natalya, fleeing her deceased husband's abusive family with her darling boy Nikolai. She took the date of their escape, August 5th, as Nikolai's birthday. It was another two years before the boy began to come out of his shell--Natalya explained that her in-laws' intense cruelty had been the reason--but Nikolai had little fondness and less respect for the step-father who showed him minimal affection and was powerful only politically. His mother, on the other hand, doted on him constantly, and he adored her almost religiously. For her happiness, he did everything in his power to suppress his dark nature, because although he didn't fully understand, he knew that Devils had begun to disgust her, not necessarily for their cruelty, since she could be terribly cruel to others when motivated by her own interests (mainly the happiness of her son), but for their crudeness and smallmindedness.

So Nikolai submerged the first thirteen years of his life, becoming a carefree diletante and diving enthusiastically into the human arts disregarded by the Devil World, and pursuing all things that pleased pretty girls, whom he associated with his mother. She supported him without hesitation in everything, finding him the best tutors to compensate for his delayed education, in which he excelled, gifting him with every expensive convenience he desired, and helped him to earn his degrees in, appropriately, the Humanities. However, she also insisted that he learn to defend himself, and saw to it that he learned from the best fencing and martial arts instructors money could engage, for fear the Stewardship Cult would eventually track them down.

She was right to worry. Shortly after Nikolai had finished his third Master's degree, in Classical Art, the Cult finally located their deserters. A powerful serpent Devil that fed on the power of other Devils, called Azi Dahaka, was sent to destroy them both. It found Natalya, and dragged her back to the Devil World, pursued by a furious Nikolai--exactly as the Cult had planned, intending to capture him and bring him back under their control. However, the had underestimated the strength of the filial bond and Nikolai's fury at finding that he had arrived too late to save his mother; Azi Dahaka attempted to use its newly absorbed powers of mind-control and illusion, but as his old training reawakened along with the Nightmare Implant, the Phantom Killer shrugged them off. He tore out the serpent's fangs, and letting the Nightmare Implant integrate them as new weapons, carved the Devil open and ripped out its crystaline heart, in which Natalya's essence remained half-digested. Nikolai made a pendant from the heart, hoping that if Mundus could be resurrected every 1,000 years, then perhaps the same could be done for his mother, if her essence could be preserved.

After the death of his mother, Nikolai submerged his Devil heritage once more, wanting nothing to do with Devils--another side of the family busied itself with that sort of thing. So he brought the pendant to Dante for safekeeping (although without revealing his identity), spinning a tale about its importance in a future ritual to combat the forces of the Devil World, explaining why it had to be kept safe from Mundus' followers, but couldn't be destroyed. He then dedicated himself to searching for esoteric texts under the pretense of his classics and ancient history studies, focusing especially on ancient occult writings. He lived on a substantial inheritance that his mother had skillfully ensured he would gain from his step-father, in case the Cult should find her. For the last few years, he has been traveling the world in search of a ritual to resurrect the preserved essence of a Devil. His other goal of interest is to retrieve the Yamato, the sword which had belonged to his father, Vergil, which apparently was not in Dante's possession, as he had expected it might be. In order to expand his opportunities for occult research, Nikolai has joined PARADIGM as a swordsman and expert in the occult.

Non-Spoilers version: When Nikolai was young, his mother Natalya took him from his homeland and abusive extended family to Russia, where she married a wealthy politician, Aleksandr Feodorovich Yevtushenko. Aleksandr was never terribly warm toward Nikolai, and Nikolai in turn had little respect for Aleksandr, but his mother was extremely doting. Nikolai grew up enjoying the advantages of his step-father's wealth, which only benefited from Natalya's interpersonal skills and cunning. For Nikolai's protection, she sought out the best self-defense teachers money could buy, in addition to his tutors. However, when Nikolai was in his 20s and had been studying, his mother was killed by Devils. Without any feelings of closeness between him and Aleksandr, Nikolai left Russia to pursue his interest in demonology which had been steadily growing since his mother's death. Since then, in order to expand his opportunities for occult research, Nikolai has joined PARADIGM as a swordsman and expert in the occult.

Skills

(These include all learned skills, as well as a relative rating from Abyssmal to Amazing. The character's level of mastery in something that can be taught or at least rated by other people follows the scale: Abyssmal, Novice, Good, Very Good, Incredible, Amazing)

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PUT A RANK FOR -EVERY- SKILL. Just fill out the stuff you think your character would have! Feel free to add other skills that you think your character should be noted for. (Ex: Speaking French)

Physical Skills:

• Alertness: Very Good (+3)
• Athletics: Amazing (+5)
• Stealth: Very Good (+3)

Social Skills:

• Subterfuge: Incredible (+4)
• Streetwise:
  • Occult Resources and Russian Mafia Connections: Incredible (+4)
  • Everything Else: Novice (+1)
• Intimidation: Good (+2) [may get a bonus as Phantom Killer]
• Leadership: Novice (+1)
• Expression: Good (+2)
• Etiquette: Very Good (+3)

Mental Skills:

• Computers: Good (+2)
• Investigation:
  • Text Research: Incredible (+4)
  • Scene Investigation: Novice (+1)
• Law: Novice (+1)
• Occult: Amazing (+5)
• Politics: Novice (+1)
• Technician: Good (+2)

Other Skills:

• Driving: Amazing (+5+2) http://imgur.com/gallery/Tyz0s
• Survival: Very Good (+3)
• Empathy: Good (+2)
• Classical Literature: Very Good (+4)
• History: Very Good (+4)
• Languages:
  • Devil Tongue: Eloquent
  • Russian: Eloquent
  • German: Fluent
  • Japanese: Fluent
  • English: Fluent
  • Ancient Greek: Semi-fluent
  • Ancient Hebrew: Semi-fluent
  • Ancient Persian: Semi-fluent
  • Latin: Semi-fluent
    

Special Abilities

(These are skills, things that can be learned or trained, like martial arts techniques, Jutsu or magic spells. Abilities that are outside the norm of regular humans, but only because they have not had access to them.)

Special Techniques:

• Wall Jump: Using his superhuman strength, Nikolai can kick off a wall to gain extra altitude when there's a vertical surface available, a la Super Metroid.
• High Time: Employing his superhuman strength, Nikolai can knock an opponent into the air with a stunning upward slash, often followed by Aerial Rave.

Style Techniques:
Swordmaster Style: Refined special techniques for use with swords.

• Prop Shredder (All Swords): Nikolai spins his sword to slice a nearby enemy at high speed.
  • Blade Shield (All Swords): A defensive version of Prop Shredder. Nikolai can deflect ranged attacks by spinning a sword in an extremely fast circle to block many weaker attacks, or placing his sword precisely in a bullet's path to block one moderate-strength attack, but this can't stop very strong attacks or area-enclosing attacks such as explosions.
• Aerial Rave (All Swords): A mid-air sword combo ending by smashing the enemy down to the ground.
• Sword-Pierce (Azi and Dahaka, Durandal): Nikolai can throw his sword, aimed to impale an enemy, and then recall the sword to his hand.
• Dervish (Azi and Dahaka): Derived from Persian sword techniques, Nikolai delivers a flurry of high-speed sword blows while in motion to strike enemies from all directions.
• Vengeance (Durandal): Nikolai performs a Stinger-like lunge, but rather than merely skidding across the ground, can launch upward to impale an airborn target.
  • Mercy (Durandal): Nikolai makes the same lunging motion as in a Vengeance, but rather than stabbing at a target, places himself to intercept an attack on an ally.
  • Beastkiller (Durandal): After connecting with a Vengeance, Nikolai withdraws Durandal in a slashing arc to tear open a much larger wound. This can lead into a regular combo or Aerial Rave.
• Million Stab (Erebus): Nikolai thrusts Erebus into a target repeatedly at an exceptionally high speed.
• Fleeting Parry (Erebus): Capitalizing on the weightlessness of Erebus' blade, it can parry incoming melee or ranged attacks at an amazing speed.
  • Riposte (Erebus): Another maneuver taking advantage of Erebus' weightlessness, this follows a parry immediately with a counterstrike.
    • Fierce Riposte (Erebus): Rather than countering with a regular strike, Nikolai can counter with a Million Stab or an Amplexus Noctis.
• Shadow's Feign-Remise (Erebus): Nikolai initiates an attack, but deactivates the blade a moment before impact, surprising the enemy and foiling attempts to parry. This is followed immediately by a syncopated (off-beat) remise (continuation of a halted attack) as the blade reactivates, either with a regular strike or an Amplexus Noctis.

Dark Champion: Brutal combat maneuvers combining unarmed combat with the power of the Nightmare Implant.

• Harpoon: Nikolai shoots out a grapple formed by the Implant, and uses it to snag an object or swing across a gap.
• Wall Crawl: The carapace of the Implant alters its surface to cling to walls or ceilings, but this requires some amount of Nikolai's body (usually at least hands) to be covered by the carapace.
• Devil Knuckles: The carapace of the Implant grows jagged spines covering Nikolai's hands or other striking surfaces, increasing the damage done by hand-to-hand attacks and slightly increasing the range of unarmed strikes.
• Dropping Bombs: While falling to the ground, the Nightmare Implant releases a burst of power as Nikolai punches into the ground, releasing a shockwave that does limited damage but can stun many enemies in close proximity.
• Throw the Switch: Grappling an enemy with the aid of the Nightmare Implant growing around the grasped limb and taking advantage of its increased strength, Nikolai lifts the enemy off the ground and slams them down again with tremendous force.
  

Powers & Merits

(Unique, or hereditary, in-born powers, whether due to genetics or magic, things that can't be taught to others or simply gifted to this person from an outside force. Powers based on weapons should go in the Items. Merits can also go here.)
Devil: Being three-quarters Devil, Nikolai has superhuman strength (can probably lift around a ton), speed, and endurange. As a Devil, any damage Nikolai suffers normally is fatiguing, but causes no wounds, although he can still feel the pain--at least momentarily--that the wound would have caused. Since part of his Devil heritage is from his succubus mother, Nikolai is especially talented at concealing his Devilish nature, as well as being a born model and having a subconsciously alluring presence.

• Devil Power: As a Devil, Nikolai can draw on dark power inherited from the Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda. With this power, he can imbue an otherwise normal sword or any other sword-like object with a small portion of his power, making it supernaturally rigid and strong, and sheathing it in an aura that can cut like a masterwork sword even if the object itself is blunt, although such improvised or improved weapons are never as powerful as a proper Devil Arm. Depending on the object imbued, it may break apart after Nikolai withdraws his power from it following combat, having been held together by the Devil Power. This power can also potentially be used to power some occult rituals.
• Devil Trigger: Using a Devil Arm, Nikolai can release his full power, greatly enhancing his physical abilities temporarily, and gradually restoring strength lost to injury. Nikolai can maintain this for a few minutes at most, and the aura of Devil Power is tangible even to those not normally sensitive to it. Other details and abilities gained, as well as the visual appearance, depend on the Devil Arm.
  

Merits
Animal Magnetism (+1): Being the son of a succubus, Nikolai has a subconsciously alluring presence, which would be still stronger if he were the type to actually use it deliberately. +1 on rolls for seduction and the like.
Iron Will (+5): After years of training for merciless brutality and unyielding ferocity, as well as spending his childhood between abuse by his handlers and struggling against the will of the Nightmare Implant, Nikolai has developed a formidable force of will--something necessary just to keep the Implant under his control. +3 bonus against mind control, including rolls to control the Nightmare Implant.
Occult Library (+2): After years of collecting texts, Nikolai has gathered a respectable library of occult materials, especially focused on demonology. Reduced difficulty or additional dice for trying to answer an occult question, given the opportunity to study the question.
Crack Driver (+1): Spending much of his young adulthood in Russia learning to impress girls, Nikolai has picked up an impressive talent for driving with flair and giving his passengers panic attacks. +2 to Drive rolls.

Tarot Blessing

The Pilgrimess tarot card.

If the Tarot card's user is in dire need and under specific circumstances, The tarot card Hero will grant assistance to them with their fight. When the tarot card Hero appears, they are a shadowed out figure that hovers behind or beside their user.. the Hero can only be visible when casting or attacking, otherwise only magic users or spiritualists will be able to see them.

• The Pilgrimess - Nikolai pulled the fortune of The Pilgrimess champion, Fran. Fran is a genius doctor and surgeon, able to remedy many problems with curious medical procedures and ideas. Currently Fran only offers one attack for Nikolai:
  • Scalpel Toss - Surgery Move of Fran. Brandishing her four arms, Fran will appear in front of Nikolai with precise slashes at the target in front of her, because she has four arms.. the move is very difficult to dodge.

Unique Items

The Nightmare Implant: A Devil Arm created from the remains of Nightmare after its destruction by Dante, the Nightmare Implant is a Devil Symbiote able to consume other Devils and synthesize weapons from them, as well as generating bursts of energy. Once fused to another Devil, the Symbiote can grow outward to form a protective carapace over its host. This carapace can generate energy bursts in the form of relatively weak but quick-firing laser-like rays comparable to small-arms weapons, or form all sorts of growths like jagged spikes. If allowed to feed on another Devil, the Implant can create new weapons from them, although this makes the Implant stronger and more difficult to control, so Nikolai avoids doing so unnecessarily. Only one weapon can be called upon at a time, but the Implant does not need to Devil Trigger in order to form partially, including the absorbed weapons; however, the Nightmare Implant is voracious, and Devil Triggering with it dramatically accelerates the use of Devil Power, reducing Nikolai's usual Devil Trigger time by a factor of 4, giving him a minute or less. Parts of the Implant can be broken off, and will crumble into dust at Nikolai's command.

• Weapon - Nightmare Delta
  • Nightmare Ray: The carapace emits individually weak but quickly firing laser-like rays of Devil Power in any direction. This uses up a little bit of a Devil Power, reducing the time available to Trigger.
  • Devil Trigger - Dark Champion: Triggering the Implant itself boosts Nikolai's physical abilities and covers him completely in the Implant's carapace. The increased Devil Power allows the Implant to generate hellfire from any part of its surface, adding hellfire damage to its regular attacks such as Dropping Bombs and Devil Knuckles, and Devil Knuckles can produce much longer blades.
• Weapon - Azi and Dahaka: Two slim Persian-style scimitars made from the fangs of the serpent Azi Dahaka, these swords form in Nikolai's hands when needed. Being created from the Implant, these swords will crumble into dust whenever Nikolai dismisses them.
  • Devil Trigger - Venomous Slayer: Nikolai becomes completely covered in the Implant's carapace, which takes on a greenish hue and a more reptilian features, as well as boosting its speed. The two swords become sharp enough to slice through rock, and their wounds cause extreme fatigue like a negative energy infection (although this can be cured like any other status effect), quickly weakening even lesser Devils due to the green-black vaporous toxin the blades exude while Triggered. The effects of the toxin can also be removed at will with a touch of the blade.
• Weapon - Stoneflesh: The carapace of the Implant takes on a more brown, rocky appearance, resembling Phantom, the magma Devil. Without Triggering, Stoneflesh enhances the defensive properties of the Implant's carapace and making it almost heat-proof.
  • Devil Trigger - Phantom Killer: Completely covered in the carapace which dimly glows red from within, Nikolai's strength is greatly enhanced, although his speed is reduced, and he gains a weakness to being slowed even further by extreme cold. However, he becomes strongly resistant to all heat-based attacks, and can pull bursts of magma up from below the ground one at a time (although this costs some Devil Power, greatly reducing the time available if he keeps using this), or draw magma into a hand to hurl at an enemy.

Durandal: A Devil Arm bound to Nikolai in particular, like Yamato was bound to Vergil. The Durandal is a leaf-bladed broadsword said to contain the blood of thirteen Devils in its ornate hilt, and its handguard is made from parts of the armor of Nelo Angelo. Nikolai has had this weapon since his childhood. The weapon is specialized for fighting Devils, although its elemental attribute is still Dark.

• Phlebotomist: Whenever striking a Devil, Durandal draws its blood, causing extra damage and giving the wielder extra red orbs, even without a kill.
  • Phlebotomist II (Power Leech): With this enhancement, whenever Durandal strikes a Devil, it drains some Devil Power, which is stored in the hilt--if the blade remains in the Devil's body, it can continue draining power, like a Nobody's power-draining ability. This will make Devils fall out of a Devil Trigger state much faster, either way.
• Unbreakable: Blocking edge-on, Durandal can cut through energy attacks and explosions.
• Devil Release - Rampant: Although Durandal has no special Devil Trigger abilities, the wielder can discharge all power collected in the hilt to launch at an enemy with a fearsome barrage of strikes like a Million Stab but with the addition of an intense jet of Devil Power in each thrust.

Erebus: This Devil Arm made from an especially vicious Shadow appears to be a sword hilt when inactive, but can form a blade of pure darkness that withers and erodes anything it touches and radiates a feeling of bone-chilling dread. Its element is Shadow/Darkness, making it strong against energy/light type beings. When Devil Triggered, the wielder takes on an indistinct, shadowy appearance with terrible glowing red eyes, and the background music changes to the "Oh Shit, It's A Fucking Shadow" music from Devil May Cry. When first activated by a new wielder, the Erebus' blade attempts to consume them like a Shadow; only someone who survives will be recognized as a worthy master. Acquired during one of Nikolai's last missions as Filius Nefastus.

• Hasta Opaca (Shadow Lance): With a stabbing motion, Erebus' blade extends several meters to impale a target, much like the impaling motion of a Shadow.
• Sagittae Opacae (Shadow Arrows): With a slashing motion, Erebus throws one to three bolts of coruscating violet energy to impale targets.
• Via Umbrarum (Path of Shadows): The wielder of Erebus can thrust the blade into a shadow, and it will erupt from another shadow within line-of-sight.
• Amplexus Noctis (Embrace of Night): Erebus generates a sudden implosive force, drawing an enemy toward the blade from as much as several meters away. This can chain into combos or techniques like Hasta Opaca or Million Stab.
• Eruptio Caliginis (Eruption of Darkness): After stabbing into a target, Erebus' blade can erupt outward in several smaller blades, causing severe additional damage, although this causes a delay before the next strike or maneuver can be used, making it best as a finishing move or against a single enemy.
• Devil Trigger - Ira Tenebrarum (Wrath of the Dark): When Devil Triggered, the wielder can charge the blade with energy, causing it to glow a fierce red color. In this state, after being thrust into an enemy, the blade will explode, draining the wielder's Devil Gauge but causing tremendous damage.
  

Items Of Note

Nikolai is a fan of fancy cars and motorcycles, and tries to keep at least one well-maintained super-deluxe sports car wherever he lives. He also owns a collection of high-quality, hand-forged swords from around the world.

During a mission to retrieve a nuclear weapon stolen by some orcs and a very angry fairy, Nikolai was given the sword called "Aleesa Kupa," a cruel device said to be poison so virulent one look could kill, although this hasn't been put to the test. Even so, whenever wondering what you're going to do when you play with danger, this weapon will make sure your enemies' defenses are pushed to the limit whether at the beginning of a busy day of fighting or finishing off a quick confrontation with one down and one to go.

Weaknesses & Flaws

Flaws can go here. Balance is key!
Devil: As with other Devils, Nikolai is vulnerable to holy attacks, which cause far greater damage than other attack types, and in special cases may even override the usual Devil trait of ignoring specific injuries. Some holy attacks may also panic the Nightmare Implant and cause it to behave erratically, requiring more effort for Nikolai to control it.
Dark Side: Because of Nikolai's training in the Devil World and submerged 'dark side,' as well as the unabashed evil of the Nightmare Implant that's symbiotically bound to him, attacks which specifically target evil can still hurt him, no matter how good his intentions.

Flaws
Dark Secret - True Identity (-1): Nikolai has taken pains to follow his mother's example, and conceal his identity, and will be certain to continue concealing his identity among all but the most trusted associates. This means avoiding use of the Nightmare Implant.
Enemy - Mundus (-2): Nearly all Devils loyal to Mundus have a special bone to pick with Nikolai over his and his mother's 'betrayal' of the Stewardship Cult. Although they would rather capture him alive and break his spirit, many would be more than content to win the glory promised to someone bringing back the head of Nelo Rennigato, and he's near the top of the Most Wanted List. This would be worth more, except that he has deliberately made efforts to stay under the Devil World's radar, but any Devils who discover who he is will probably either try to capture him, try to kill him, or try to stay away from him so they don't get branded traitors as well. If Nikolai's identity is revealed, the value of this flaw will increase by one to compensate, as efforts by the Stewardship Cult to track him down become more effective. If Mundus were to revive, this would probably be worth 5 points.
Otherworldly Taint (-2): Nikolai has the preternaturally blue eyes common to the descendents of Sparda, which Devils, Sparda-cultists, and others familiar with the Sparda legends will quickly recognize; he conceals this in various ways, especially wearing glasses with tinted lenses. Others get difficulty 7 Alertness roll to identify Nikolai, if his eyes are seen, if they know about the Sparda line.
Hero Worship - Vergil (-1): Nikolai was raised to believe that Vergil was the best thing ever (partly because his mother wanted him to have something to be proud of in his family), and tends to accept it unquestioningly, as well as the implied resentment toward Dante's side of the family. -2 on rolls to admit/accept that Vergil might be wrong, if appropriate.
Ulterior Motive - Resurrect Natalya (-2): Certain of Nikolai's allies may not be thrilled with him using PARADIGM as a vehicle to collect information on how to resurrect Devils, and he isn't about to share the details of why he wants to...

Nightmare Implant Flaws: These flaws apply when the Nightmare Implant is active and attempting to assert its own desires and appetites. Obviously, if a Devil sees the Nightmare Implact active, it will almost certainly be instantly recognized, which risks turning Nikolai's Dark Secret into a higher-level Enemy. Every two weapons absorbed from Devils applies a -1 penalty to rolls resisting the Implant's desires; right now, Nik's +3 Iron Will bonus only counts as +2 to resist the Implant, and this will only get worse if it grows stronger.
Sadism: Especially cruel even for a Devil, the Nightmare Implant revels in causing pain to its victims, and Nikolai may need to struggle against it with a Will roll to make it stop.
Compulsion - Get Power, Eat Devils, Disregard Females: Not only is the Nightmare Implant sapient enough to understand that gaining power is the surest way to overcome its wielder, but it is also hungry for power for its own sake--and just hungry in general. Nikolai may have to make a Will roll against difficulty 6 to resist the Implant's desire to try and consume a Devil, and for his sake will hopefully be stopped or restrained before the Implant succeeds. Fortunately, it isn't instantaneous.
Phobia - Holy Power: The Implant is also a craven coward when it comes to things that can really hurt it. Holy power in particular scares the shit out of the Implant, requiring a Will roll (difficulty 7) to stop it from going catatonic. Even if this succeeds, the Implant's state of panic will apply a -1 penalty to all rolls to do anything other than running the hell away.
Subservient - Mundus: Although the Implant has no sense of loyalty, it does know who the biggest dog in the yard is, and will force a Will roll to directly disobey any order coming directly from Mundus (difficulty 5), or which it believes is coming directly from Mundus, although Nikolai can still try to worm around the wording even if he can't restrain the Implant.

NPC(s) to go with char

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