Arnice

**Arnice** (アーナス) is the protagonist of *Nights of Azure*, in which she is a Holy Knight serving the Curia. She also appears as one of the heroines in *Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon*. Her closest friend and lover is Lilysse.

## Appearance

### Nights of Azure

Arnice is a gorgeous woman with long silver hair reaching down to her waist, fair skin, and amber-colored eyes. She wears a set of golden rimmed goggles on her head. Being a half-demon, she ages slower than normal humans. Additionally, while not shown in-game, official art shows that Arnice has fangs, further evidence of her half-demon physiology.

She wears a bright crimson open-side shirt with white, red and gold accents, and a white collar folded upwards, revealing her red necktie. She wears a dark-brown leather glove on her left hand, covering a red-and-blue tattoo on her upper left forearm. A large brown-and-gold gauntlet is worn upon her right arm, along with a red sleeve folded at the end that almost reaches to her shoulder.

Her lower half consists of dark brown miniskirt, with her shirt overlapping in the front, and has loosened x-shaped leather straps wrapped over her waist. She has tattered ornamental skirts fluttering behind her with two leather straps attached on either side forming a golden star ornament at their intersection. She wears a pair of white high-heeled boots that end a several inches above her knee.

In the Dream World, Arnice wears a white-colored hairband, robe, underwear, and high-heeled sandals. You can also clearly see her tattoo in this outfit.

Her entire physical appearance also changes for a short period of time, depending on her transformations.

### Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon

After she became a pure-blood demon, Arnice's complexion turned pale, and her left eye turned light blue and right eye turned red. She now wears a set of blue-rimmed goggles on her head.

Her overall attire has changed, containing aspects of her Nightmare Form. She wears a blue open-side shirt with white, red and black accents, and white collar folded upwards, revealing her blue necktie. She wears a black demonic-armored glove on her left hand, and a large black demonic-armored gauntlet upon her right arm, with a blue sleeve folded at the end, almost reaching her shoulder.

Her lower half consists of torn tights under her black and torn miniskirt, with her shirt overlapping in the front, and has loosened x-shaped leather and chain straps wrapped over her waist. She has torn and tattered ornamental skirts fluttering behind her with two leather straps attached on either side forming a golden star ornament at their intersection. She wears a pair of black demonic-armored high-heeled boots that end several inches above her knee.

## Personality

### Nights of Azure

Arnice is a caring person, especially towards Lilysse. She is seen as calm and serious at most times, but her soft spot for Lilysse can occasionally yield giddiness or protective rage from even her. During various requests during the daytime, Arnice has been shown to enjoy helping people. She has a good-natured approach to many of these activities, showing that she is kind and human at heart.

On the other hand, Arnice deeply resents the Curia. She takes no issue with casting foul words their way, even if they often deserve it. When the Curia is involved, Arnice will become far more serious and aggressive than usual, even bordering on dry and sarcastic at times. This can be the said of when she must put up with Lloyd and Alucard's antics too, however. Despite her good-natured attitude while with her dearest, she is not at all extroverted, and has a difficult time properly reacting to outside interaction, compliments in particular.

Whenever she is in the Dream World, she becomes much more honest with her feelings than usual. This usually leads to her embarrassing herself by blurting out her thoughts, much to her dismay and to the Maiden of Jorth's amusement. When she meets here with the dreaming Lilysse, she is shy and sensitive, as all of her thoughts are laid bare before her.

Arnice's overall personality also changes for a short period of time depending on her transformations.

### Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon

Arnice remains largely the same since her previous appearance, but there are some notable differences in her behavior within this entry.

After being saved from an eternity of wandering in despair by Aluche Anatoria, Arnice regained her faculties and her prior spirit was rekindled. During this time, she gained a fondness for Aluche, finding a certain camaraderie that she had not before experienced. This allowed her to return to her dry, stoic self with a newfound sense of humor hidden beneath the surface.

## History

 **Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. Read at your own discretion.**
### Nights of Azure

#### Early Life

Arnice began life as a human girl living near a simple, rural village in an unlisted location, likely on the continent of Europe. She had an unnamed companion, a girl whom she had known and befriended at a young age. The two spent their days together in peace, with Arnice acting as a protector of the latter as they gradually fell in love.

#### Love and Loss

One day, when Arnice and her companion were out collecting herbs as they often did, Arnice slipped down a cliffside and had a close call, but she hugged her companion safely after climbing back up. However, as they were celebrating their reunion, it was just as quickly stolen away as Blue Blood began to rain from the skies. Desperate to save the girl she loved, the young Arnice dashed to the nearest shelter she could find with her companion in tow: a small hole suitable for only one person to fit inside. Before she could sacrifice herself, however, her companion shoved Arnice inside and shielded her from the rain with her body as best she could. With a smile and a final wish for Arnice to live on, Arnice's love fell over lifeless.

#### Reborn in Blood

After losing the one person in the world whom she cared for most, Arnice was consumed with anguish. Her exposure to the Blue Blood on that fateful day turned her into a Half-Demon, and without any restraint or grounding, she rampaged across the land, mindlessly killing every Fiend in her wake. After several years, she was eventually apprehended by a group of the Curia's Holy Knights, who imprisoned her in a lonely cell. Arnice was visited one night by a mysterious man who offered her a chance to kill as many Fiends as she pleased and escape her jail, if only she followed his requests as her Guide. Now having regained her sentience after memories of her companion's final wish resurfaced, she begrudgingly complied.

#### A Chance Encounter

Now a Holy Knight of the Curia herself, Arnice was given instructions from her Guide to seek out and watch over the next Saint candidate: a girl named Lilysse. To achieve this goal, she would be required to enroll in a prestigious academy owned by the Curia designed to raise girls as priestesses and determine who among them were worthy of being the next Saint candidate. Since the identity of the candidate was to be kept a secret, Arnice was enrolled as a simple transfer student, allowing her to perform her bodyguard duties unnoticed and unquestioned.

Her first day on the job did not go as smoothly as she had hoped for, however, as she had trouble locating her target. Thankfully, after much time searching, a mysterious black cat appeared and led her to the girl who was sleeping alone in the garden. While waking the sleeping beauty, Arnice noticed just how gorgeous she was, which suddenly struck her with a number of conflicting emotions—and a memory of a certain someone. Lilysse awoke and snapped Arnice out of her daydreaming, suddenly acting embarrassed at being found sleeping so casually and scrambling to apologize. The two clumsily bumped into each other (though the clumsiness was mostly Lilysse's) before parting awkwardly. Arnice laughed for the first time in what felt like years, getting the feeling that this was the start of something interesting.

#### Pledge

Despite some complications while she and Lilysse got to know each other, Arnice eventually began to care for the clumsy girl outside of her duties as a knight. Soon enough, the Saint Festival was upon them—a celebration of priestesses and knights alike for their service in raising and protecting a new Saint. It was a hectic time, so Arnice was warned by her Guide to be extra cautious. She and Lilysse were assigned to gather supplies together. Along the way, they were freed from the baggage of a prior incident of awkwardness. They ran out of time to spend together, so they promised to go out again and spend time having tea and going out shopping.

#### True Self

As Arnice was returning to she and Lilysse's shared dorm room from gathering supplies, she noticed a disturbing sight: the lack of her friend and a note in her place stating that she had gone back out for something she had forgotten. As night was approaching, and with it, Fiends, Arnice sprung into action. Racing through the city with greatsword in hand, Arnice searched the streets for the lost girl. When she found her, Lilysse was unconscious in a dark alley with hungry Fiends looming over her. Arnice hastened her pace and summoned her Servans while fighting off the weaklings. Lilysse awoke from the commotion. Then, the leader of the monsters attacked the knight while she was distracted and tore at her sleeve as she narrowly avoided its grasp. Without further delay, Arnice slew the last remaining Fiend, causing its inhuman Blue Blood to spray across her body before Lilysse's eyes.

Lilysse panicked, thinking that it was all over for Arnice, but Arnice calmly reassured her that she was fine. With no other choice than to reveal her identity, she told Lilysse about her nature as a Half-Demon, as well as her mission to hunt fiends and the reason why she came to the academy. Arnice displayed plainly now that she viewed herself with disgust, as she was an abomination in her own eyes. However, Lilysse did not share the sentiment, seeming to be simply upset rather than afraid.

#### Oath Keeper

A few days later, the Fiend outbreaks and chaos had died down, and it was time for the Saint Festival. Lilysse insisted that Arnice accompany her since she had promised, so she complied. The pair had tea at a cafe as agreed upon prior despite the extraordinary events that had occurred since then. Arnice was nervous at how calm Lilysse was about all of this. That was when Lilysse made her even more nervous by suddenly revealing her conviction to still become a priestess despite the dangers, adding that she could support Arnice as her reasoning. Arnice's natural response was to cave into herself and return to self-loathing, but after being bombarded with embarrassing public positive reinforcement from Lilysse, she could stay that way no longer.

#### Ms. Knight

Time passed, the season changed, and soon enough, the girls had graduated from their school life. On a pleasantly windy day, Arnice stood alone, leaning against a large tree while reading a black letter from her Guide. The contents mentioned a powerful Fiend requiring assistance to be defeated, and so Arnice was to receive backup on this mission. Not long after, a familiar presence graced her eyes. While trying not to trip and fall, she spoke "nice to meet you, Ms. Knight" while smiling innocently. Now confident in her purpose and identity, Arnice reached out her hands and joined them with her partner's.

### Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon

Some time after the true ending of *Nights of Azure,* Arnice accepted her role as the new Nightlord and did her best to bring about harmony between Demons and humans. This peaceful reign was successful, but short-lived, as the Moon Queen eventually appeared to challenge Arnice and cause havoc in the world by again unleashing the Fiends. Despite her best attempts, Malvasia was unable to best Arnice, and so sought instead to strike at her weak point: her lover. She kidnapped Lilysse and held her hostage, then later claimed that she had been killed to break Arnice's spirit.

Due to the Moon Queen tricking Arnice into believing that Lilysse was dead, Arnice lost all traces of her humanity and became a rampaging Demon with no control over her emotions. During this time, she was very similar in nature to a Fiend, but with the indomitable strength of the new Nightlord. This nearly exactly mirrors her memory loss and animalistic behavior from when she lost her first love, and continued for years until Aluche saved her.

## Relationships

* Lilysse - The newly-chosen Saint whom Arnice was assigned to protect. Arnice cares deeply for Lilysse and is willing to sacrifice anything to keep her safe. They share a bond that is beyond that of best friends as they both confess their love for one another after years of already being quite close. Their love enables Arnice to endure anything the Night throws at her, even the gradual loss of her own humanity. Arnice possesses many qualities that would lead one to believe that she is the dominant of the two, but she is rather meek and shy when speaking with Lilysse, and though Lilysse is physically clumsy, her intuition allows her to effortlessly determine Arnice's emotions while Arnice has trouble understanding and relating to others. Nonetheless, the couple share an implicit understanding along with occasionally explicit gestures of love that keep them close.
* Simon - As manager of the Ende Hotel, Simon assigns and assists Arnice with her duties as a Holy Knight of Curia. He also occasionally confides in her about his problems in addition to assisting Arnice with her own. Their relationship is friendly but largely professional.
* Christophorus - A pure-blooded demon whom Arnice encounters many times in her campaign against the Night. Though seemingly a powerful enemy, Chris helps Arnice more than hinders her. Despite clashing with her at times, Arnice respects Chris and views her as a trustworthy ally after having come to understand her past and motivations. When Arnice was rampaging through the night after the apparent death of Lilysse, Chris attempted to keep her company and watch over her from a distance in hopes that she would return to her former self.
* Maiden of Jorth - A mysterious spirit residing in the Dream World who looks remarkably similar to Lilysse. The Maiden of Jorth presides over the Dream World and the supremely powerful weapon contained within it, Jorth, assisting Arnice in her quest to attain the blade by offering Blue Blood to it. She and Arnice have a professional relationship, but the similarities to Lilysse's appearance that she possesses often causes Arnice to experience discomfort while in the Maiden's presence.
* Corrine - A senior Holy Knight, she and Arnice would be on senior-subordinate terms if not for Corrine's antagonism for her junior. Their time together was brief, and their relationship just as strictly terse. In the end, however, Arnice respected Corrine's dedication and fighting prowess.
* Ludegert - As the leader of the Curia, a puppet master directing the charade of human sacrifices, and the ultimate cause of the Blue Blood, Ludegert became the target for all of the pent-up aggression and indignation Arnice had suppressed over the years. Furious that Ludegert would take away so much from so many, and then demand Lilysse's life on top of it, Arnice made it her purpose to strike her down, even if it meant becoming that which she swore to destroy...
* Aluche Anatoria - An agent of the reformed Curia, aiming to stop the Moon Queen from bringing about the Eternal Night. On her journey, she met and eventually rescued a heartbroken Arnice, awakening her from her demonic rage and restoring her faculties. Arnice is eternally grateful to Aluche for saving her, and also feels a sense of camaraderie with the young half-demon as well.
* Malvasia - The dreaded Moon Queen, a demon who could not be reasoned with even by the Nightlord herself. Indeed, Malvasia tormented Arnice through endangering her beloved on more than one occasion, and Arnice despised her for it. She was happy to see to the Moon Queen's destruction at the hands of Aluche and her allies.

## Combat

As a Holy Knight of the Curia, Arnice is well-versed in combat against Fiends. She can summon up to four servans in battle, and command them to do her bidding. She is first seen fighting with a greatsword that exceeds her actual height, and can use it for three kinds of attacks: weak, strong, and a special attack that consumes part of her spiritual power. Attacking fiends helps replenish said power.

During the fight against the Blueblood Dragon, Arnice obtains the Demon Sword, Jorth, along with the ability to transform into five distinct demon forms. Jorth can be powered up by Blue Blood to unlock new skills for Arnice, as well as change into different forms itself.

### Transformations

* Demon Form - Arnice's default transformation if the transformation factor value for other forms is not high enough. This form is great at crowd control and remaining on the offensive.
* Rabbit Form - This form focuses on agility and speed, enhancing the target lock and allowing Arnice to deliver multi-hit, lightning-fast attacks.
* Phantom Form - This form gives Arnice access to group healing, significant SP restoration rate, continuous Servan summoning, and other support skills.
* Armor Form - This form focuses on both offense and defense, but her attack and movement speeds go down drastically.
* Nightmare Form - Arnice's most powerful transformation, boasting supreme attack power and speed as well as far greater mobility than her standard form. (Available only after beating the game once.)

### Weapons

* Greatsword - Arnice's long-time trusty greatsword, given to her by the Curia to hunt fiends. It is only used in-game during the first few minutes of combat, and is then replaced by Jorth. It is otherwise functionally identical to the Sword.
* Sword - Arnice's well-balanced default weapon. Has a medium-long range with fast attacks, but many combos can lock Arnice into animations in which she is vulnerable until weapon swapping is unlocked.
* Dual Dagger - A pair of daggers that allow Arnice to attack rapidly, interrupting enemy attacks and inflicting the bleed status ailment. The Daggers can be used for evasive maneuvers and blindingly fast assaults but have a dangerously short reach.
* Blitz Shooter - Arnice can attack from a distance with this weapon, as well as heal allies, but it consumes her spiritual power with every shot in addition to dealing comparatively lesser damage.
* Warhammer - Enables Arnice to release shock waves along with severely damage enemies with high defense and those whom are resilient to her Sword attacks, additionally resisting interruption from weak enemy attacks. The shock waves provide a wide range of attack, but the hammer locks Arnice in place for a long period, swings slowly, and has low combo potential without switching weapons.
* Blood Sword - The ultimate form of Jorth. With strong attacks, it can heal Arnice an amount equivalent to the Blue Blood it absorbs. Possesses the greatest reach and damage potential of all weapons, but is balanced out by its somewhat slow speed.

### Nights of Azure 2

Arnice joins Aluche's side, fighting with her Demon Sword, Jorth.

* **Double Chase** - Arnice picks up Aluche and bites her, then thrusts her sword forward as it elongates unleashing demonic power that hurts every enemy around them. (Arnice's Double Chase gauge will only fill up with Revenge Attacks instead of Double Attacks.)
* **Lily Burst** - Arnice hands Aluche the Demon Sword Jorth, which she dual wields along with her own sword to slash the enemies. Meanwhile Arnice creates a dark hole in the ground sucking in the enemies and hitting them witht her demonic powers. Finally Aluche comes out of the ground and grabs Aluche.
* **Active Skill** - "Eye of the Absolute" - Inflicts status ailments to enemies in the area.
* **Special Skill** - "Monarch's Privilege" - Chance to heal own HP and increases attack.

## Appearances in Other Media

### Shin Sangoku Musou Blast

Arnice featured in one of the game's collaboration events. Transported to the Battle of Hulao Gate by unknown means, she teams up with the player to find Lilysse while warding off Dong Zhuo.

### Warriors All-Stars

On September 26, 2017, it was announced that Koei Tecmo would be creating a massive crossover Warriors game featuring 10+ of their IP's, from classic Koei Games, to Tecmo IPs, and even Gust IP's.

The story takes place in an alternate world that relies on a miraculous spring to sustain itself. The King who could control the spring's powers suddenly perished, leaving the world in turmoil. The Queen told her daughter to summon otherworldly heroes to save their land, with Arnice being one of them, but the attempted summoning malfunctioned and left them scattered in different areas. Eventually, other members of this royal family are deemed eligible for the throne, dividing all the heroes into three warring factions.

## Trivia

* Arnice is left-handed.
* Arnice's name in Hebrew means "mountain of strength."
* Arnice absolutely adores chocolate and loathes tomato juice. This is because all of those with Blue Blood seem to enjoy chocolate for one reason or another, while tomato juice reminds Arnice of human blood which she feels guilty about the thought of drinking.
* Arnice's voice actress, M·A·O, sings the true ending credits song of *Nights of Azure*, "Eve," alongside Lilysse's voice actress, Hiromi Igarashi.
* Based on Arnice's general dismissal of authority and tradition, flowing red garb, white hair, use of a large demonic greatsword, and status as a half-demon who hunts demons, it can be surmised that her character may have been inspired by Dante from the Devil May Cry character-action video game series.
* In *Dead or Alive 5 Last Round* Gust collaboration, if the player chooses Phase 4 - the option to pick Arnice's costume will be available under Costume 33.

## Gallery

### General

Arnice with the Blood SwordArnice's Dream World attireArnice render, Nights of Azure 2In-game model (standard outfit)In-game model (no armor)In-game model (dream attire)Profile in Nights of Azure 2Arnice in Warriors All-StarsHonoka DLC Costume in Warriors All-StarsShin Sangoku Musou Blast cardShin Sangoku Musou Blast reincarnated cardBond Level 0-2 (Nights of Azure 2)Bond Level 3-5 (Nights of Azure 2)Bond Level 6 (Nights of Azure 2)Day MoveDay Move 2Day Move 3
### Concept Art

Arnice, Jorth form concept artArnice's tattoo, Warhammer & Dual Dagger concept artBlitz Shooter & Blood Sword concept artArnice concept artArnice concept art (Dream World, no armor, performing Desden)Jorth forms concept artArnice concept art (Nights of Azure 2)Arnice concept art, side and back angles (Nights of Azure 2)Arnice swimsuit concept art (Nights of Azure 2)
### Promotional Artwork

Arnice wielding the Blood Sword with ServansArnice posing with ServansArnice wielding Blitz Shooter, riding Bronze LeoArnice wielding Blood Sword with her Demon FormArnice lying in red and blue flowers with LilysseArnice wielding Dual Dagger with Lilysse and Servans at her side, Nightlord looming overheadNights of Azure main castArnice lying in water with roses and black butterfliesArnice lying with Lilysse in the Dream WorldArnice holding LilysseArnice transforming into her Armor FormArnice and Lilysse at the AcademyArnice with several ServansArnice absorbing Blue Blood with her Rosier ClockArnice and Aluche in Nights of Azure 2Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon main cast