Nada De Zago

Nada De Zago a nobleman from Zago and presumed heir to the throne. He is the antagonist of the Tournament Arc.
==Appearance ==
Nada is an effeminate looking man of average height. Being a high-ranked nobleman allows him to dress in the finest clothing available, often with a various pieces of jewelry adorning him. He has long, straight hair that he keeps loose.
Nada is notably clean shaven, with the exception of a small Fu Manchu mustache. His lips appear to be either plump or painted. His eyes are small and narrow with his iris being only a small circle. His bottom lashes can be seen, a beauty mark sits under his right eye.
== Personality ==
Nada is a sheltered and spoiled man. Nada wants only one thing in life, which is to be entertained by strong fighters. He patrons a local arena where he has his collection of fighters fight against anyone looking to earn some money. He encourages his fighters to be exceptionally violent and cruel to their opponents, even going so far as to have seventeen men fight against one to make a point. He enjoys fighting so much that he decides to pay for the arena to use real swords instead of the clubs they typically use.
His favor toward his fighters is fickle, as shown by his disregard for Barago after he failed to defeat Izark twice. He tries to encourage Izark to kill Barago and is annoyed when he refuses to do so. His regard for human life is based purely on his amusement and the physical strength of his fighters.
Nada doesn’t seem to have much of a political presence like other recurring antagonists, only wanting to be entertained through any means necessary. He is aware of the political climate of his country as he has Grand Duke Jeida and his sons captured from Gaya’s home with the intention of handing them over to Kemil. He looks down on people like Jeida, seeing them simply as whiners. Knowing the Jeida hates violence, he forced Jeida and his sons to watch the fight between his men and Izark.
However, Nada does briefly show some sadness at being a sheltered nobleman as he also enjoys observing the commoners in a local bar, lamenting that he would like to try their liquor just once.
== Biography ==
===== Tournament Arc =====
Nada is first seen hidden behind a curtain in the fighting arena, watching as his favorite fighter, number three (Kaidar), beats another fighter. Nada remarks on Kaidar’s cruelty, something Nada likes about him. He asks the arena manager to have a tournament with swords instead the clubs they typically use, which the gentleman agrees to do, suggesting that Nada funds the prize money to incentivize people to join. The gentleman warns that they will have to follow some restrictions, but Nada dismisses the idea as Grand Duke Kemil has promised him the throne and thus has the power to remove any safety restrictions.
Later, Nada is being escorted on the second floor of a bar, where he watches the common people on the first floor. He laments that he wants to try the alcohol served to them, but is told by his escort that none of the booze below would satisfy him. Just then, Izark enters, and Nada immediately takes notice. Deciding that he wants to see how good Izark is, he summons Barago to fight him.
After Izark refuses to fight, Nada grants Barago permission to kill Izark if he continues to refuse. However, Izark easily throws Barago aside, surprising and impressing Nada. Nada’s usual guards try to apprehend Izark only for Kaidar to be the one to catch him. Nada is seen again bringing Izark to the palace, ordering for him to be locked up for defying him. He asks his men to summon him when Izark wakes up.
Nada returns to see Izark the following morning, unknowingly interrupting a sudden telepathic link between Izark and Noriko. He begins to mock Izark for defying him, calling the young man stupid. After introducing himself, he demands that Izark join an upcoming tournament for Nada to assess his skills, promising to make Izark a palace guard if he wins. He continues to show off three of his fighters (Kaidar, Barago, and Orne), explaining that there are fourteen other men in his collection. Nada soon realizes that Izark isn’t listening to him and shouts at Izark, to which Izark informs him that he’s unable to fight given that Kaidar subdued him with a drug. Kaidar assures Nada that Izark will be recovered by the next day which prompts Barago to suggest that he teach Izark a lesson for being rude to Nada. Nada agrees, and is pleased when Barago forces Izark to kneel to him. Nada is surprised that Izark can still fight Barago despite being weak and urges Izark to kill Barago, though Izark refuses as Barago doesn’t want to die.
Though this annoys Nada, he lets Izark have a bag of gold as a prize. He then informs Izark that there’ll be a royal tournament in two days and he wants Izark to participate in it. He offers Izark twenty bags of gold and the highest position in the palace guard if he wins. Izark declines the position, asking to instead be set free. Nada agrees and asked for Izark’s name before having the chief chamberlain move Izark to a new room in the main building. In that moment, he notices Jeida and his sons watching.
He greets Jeida rather coldly, referring to him as the former Duke of the left wing. He mentions how Jeida used to criticize him and calls him a whiner before deciding to have Jeida watch the upcoming tournament. Nada promptly leaves to go to town, ordering Kaidar and Orne to follow him as they leave Barago behind.
In the garden, Orne asks if Nada truly plans to given the promised prizes to Izark despite him being rude to Nada. Nada confirms this, adding that before the official start of the tournament they’ll be having a "demonstration match" where Izark will have to fight against all seventeen of Nada’s fighters. Nada revels at the thought of Izark cowering in fear, begging for his life, which he believes will be great entertainment.
When the day of the tournament arrives, Nada, from his podium, mocks Izark for not knowing about the brutal match he’s about to subjected to. Unbeknownst to Nada, Barago already warned Izark about the fight the night before. As Nada’s men surround Izark, Nada explains the purpose of this match much to the disgust of Jeida who tries to oppose the bloodshed. As Nada declares the start of the unofficial match, Barago seizes the opportunity to attack Izark first, quietly demanding to know why Izark didn’t escape. Izark assures him that he believed Barago’s warning, but that there was something he needed to do and requests Barago’s help.
Izark casually throws Barago aside, allowing for Barago to flee the scen unnoticed as the other fighters begin their assault. Izark easily handles several fighters without getting hurt, to which Nada and the crowd realize that Izark is entertaining himself with the fight. Nada becomes flustered, chastising his men for not defeating Izark and reminding them that they’re fighting for his honor. Kaidar half-heartedly rallies the men, though he privately acknowledges that the others don’t have a chance against Izark. The fight continues on, with Nada’s men becoming increasing exhausted. Eventually, Agol joins the fight briefly to hand a mysterious jar to Izark that he’d ask for earlier.
Kaidar, seeing this as his opportunity, attacks Izark with his wind only for Izark to use his own powers against him, breaking the jar of sedatives that Barago and Agol retrieve. Nada inhales the poisoned winds and falls unconscious onto the ground. Before Izark’s group leaves the arena, Izark took the time to claim his monetary prize and write “Jerk” along Nada’s face in a special ink that is said to not come off easily.
===== Epilogue and Noriko’s Mini Diary =====
Following Rachef’s death, Nada is seen again with a pair of merchants, who thank him for letting them use his guard to hurt travelers and merchants using the route within the White Mist Forest. Nada watches from a small cliff, eager to see his men kill the merchants passing through. The merchants with him comment on how no one will use this route, leading to them getting their business back with the bonus of entertaining Nada. As Nada excitedly encourage his men to attack, Izark appears, quickly dealing with the disgraced guards. The guards and Nada recognize Izark, but before Nada could say anything, Izark’s jumped onto Nada’s shoulders, annoyed that Nada clearly didn’t learn anything from their last encounter.
Nada, not understanding what was going on, tried to bully Izark into apologizing for his rudeness. However, Izark wasn’t interested and picked Nada up by the back of his shirt, holding him as if he were a dirty rag. Following this, Nada was put on trail where his men testified against him, admitting to their crimes and Nada’s direct involvement. This set in motion several events, which included him being removed as a potential heir to the throne and his cousin, Paroy, being chosen instead.
== Relationships ==
=== Jeida De Gilenee ===
Nada holds nothing but immature contempt toward Jeida and his family. Prior to story, Jeida criticized Nada (likely for his extravagant ways and thirst for violence) which put the two men at odds. Nada takes pleasure in the thought of upsetting Jeida, but makes no effort to be a threat to the man or his two sons.
=== Grocia ===
Though the extent of their acquaintance is unknown and likely nonexistent, Grocia knows a bit about Nada's family and is the one to tell Noriko that Nada had an older brother.
=== Grand Duke Kemil ===
The extent of their relationship isn't fully known, but it was through Kemil that Nada was made (or, at least, was promised to become) the crown prince of Zago. Kemil, likely seeing Nada as easy to manipulate and placate, promised Nada the throne following Jeida's removal from power as the elder was the main obstacle between Kemil and control over Zago.
=== Barago ===
Prior to his defeat by Izark, Barago was one of three favored fighters among Nada's collection. He was likely the favorite as Nada calls for him first to test Izark's skills at the bar. It's unknown how long Barago worked for Nada, but all the dedication meant nothing once Barago was defeated by Izark the second time. Following his adventures with Noriko and Izark, Barago realizes just how of his potential he wasted on being subservient to Nada and is disgusted by the guards being reduced to mere thieves by the epilogue.
=== Kaidar ===
One of three favored warriors from Nada's collection, Kaidar and Nada both enjoy violence and Kaidar was happy to use any opportunity to better his position. Following Barago's second defeat, (as well as being the one to capture Izark) Kaidar becomes eager to show off and become the de facto strongest in Nada's collection. Unfortunately, his attempt to impress Nada and show off cost Nada both Izark and Jedia and his sons. This incident likely is why Kaidar isn't seen with the other guards in the epilogue.
== Trivia ==
* It's because of Nada's tournament that the Noriko and Izark's initial traveling group is established.
* When Nada’s guards are seen in the epilogue, Kaidar is not among them, but Orne is.
** This implies that Kaidar either left Nada's guard or that he was kicked out as it was partially his fault that Izark and the others escaped.