Nihilister/Story

Spoilers!*"Your greatest villain Drake shall warn you, SPOILERS AHEAD!"*The following article or section contain **spoilers!** Viewer discretion is advised.
Under Construction*"No need to fear, Liter is here!"*This article is currently under construction. Help contribute by filling out missing information or section!

Overview**Story**VoicelinesGallery

## Behind the Scenes

###

Kim Hyeon-sim

###

Marissa Lenti

###

Hitomi Nabatame

## Profile

A member of the Heretics, traitor Nikkes that serve the Rapture Queen. Dubbed "**Flame Dragon**" by those who live long enough to survive her trail of devastation, Nihilister's armor gives her the ability to take to the skies and rain hellfire upon the unfortunate souls below, just as the beasts of legend did.

Having been the colleague of both Indivilia and Chatterbox, she seems to be just as big a fan of talking as the latter was, heckling and taunting her prey as she chases them down and reduces them to ash.

### Nikke Backstory

A Heretic and loyal subject to the Rapture Queen who has long been a scourge to all Nikkes.

As the lead general of the legions under the Queen's command, her belligerence knows no bounds, nor does her appetite for destruction.

## Story

### Main Story

Nihilister is briefly mentioned when Modernia faces off against Counters and the protagonist in Chapter 7, pondering if she should've gotten backup from the belligerent Heretic as the squad inexplicably puts her on the backfoot.

#### Chapter 19

As part of their operation to take down Nihilister, Johan and the Nikkes of Inherit scavenge a munitions refinery for Vapaus, the only substance that can destroy nanomachines and render Nikkes and Heretics mortal. In doing so, they cross paths with the protagonist, Counters, and their tagalong Papillon, quickly overwhelming them before returning to Eden with their one bullet of Vapaus.

#### Chapter 20

Johan, the protagonist, Inherit, and Counters initiate the operation to defeat Nihilister. Despite some...rough patches...between the Eden squad and the Ark squad, they somehow learn to tolerate each other long enough to reach Nihilister's territory. And just in time too, as they get close enough to catch Nihilister's attention, and she rockets through the air for a landing, slicing clouds and smashing into the earth like a meteor.

Just as Nihilister is building energy to scorch her adversaries to ash, she notices the protagonist scurrying for cover and winds down so she can get a close look at him. Grabbing the protagonist by the collar, she points a sharp tail at his stomach, asking him if he remembers a Rapture that could talk, dubbed "Chatterbox" by the people of the Ark. Turns out Chatterbox was a favored subordinate of hers, but revenge isn't on her plans for today. Before his death, Chatterbox mentioned to his superior that she might find something intriguing if she were to cut the protagonist open. Nihilister crows about having the "blackbox" delivered to her by Eden, transforms into her dragon form, and scorches the area before readying for takeoff. Just before she can ascend, Papillon and Counters grab onto her tail, and hitch a ride into the Heretic's lair.

Nihilister transforms back as she lands in the volcanic crater she calls a base, scattering the protagonist, Papillon, and Counters in the process. She decides to toy with the protagonist a little, asking if he's considered her offer on whether she will kill him, or the Nikkes. Of course, she plans on killing him anyway, and they all refuse to play her game. "Touched" by this display of camaraderie, Nihilister calls a horde of Raptures to kill the Nikkes.

The Nikkes defeat the horde, but Nihilister decides to step in, her body crunching gruesomely as she transforms back into her dragon form. The land is bathed in fire, and the protagonist and the Nikkes can only duck behind rocks for cover, which soon begin to melt as Nihilister's flame is hot enough to melt steel.

Nihilister revels in her opponents scurrying around, heckling them to do something other than run and hide. The protagonist and his squad decide to oblige, pulling a few tricks to make Nihilister work for her kill.

The squad has managed to wound Nihilister, and she simultaneously rejoices in feeling such for the first time in a while, but also finding it a shame that her auto-repair will make such a sensation fleeting as it mends her flesh in seconds. With no other recourse, the protagonist levels a handgun in Nihilister's direction. She taunts him to open fire, knowing full well that the only reason a human would dare try to shoot her would be if they had Vapaus loaded. The protagonist then puts the gun down and walks towards Nihilister, the Heretic wondering if he's lost his mind.

Before he can try his gambit on an unexploded bomb near Nihilister, Johan and Inherit break into the base, sending the protagonist flying as they fire on Nihilister. Johan grabs the gun that flew out of the protagonist's hand and shoots Nihilister in the arm. The Heretic is briefly surprised that she was shot by a human, only for her to berate his foolishness as she severs the arm that was shot, thereby stopping the Vapaus from spreading to the rest of her body as she regenerates her arm. Johan fires two more center-mass shots on Nihilister, the Heretic wondering if he's gone mad from wasting Vapaus before realizing her new wounds aren't healing. Nihilister screams as she realizes she's been tricked, and Inherit and Counters have her on the ropes. Nihilister pleads for mercy, promising that she can kill the Rapture Queen for the humans. This promises leads Dorothy to intervene on Nihilister's behalf, willing to hear her out.

Nihilister explains that there's something in the world called "Lilith's Body", supposedly the predecessor to the Queen, and the key to killing her. Nihilister pleads for the Vapaus to be removed from her, in exchange for using Lilith's Body to kill the Queen. As she does so, however, a beam shoots through Nihilister, silencing her. The Heretic Liberalio has awoken, both to bail out Nihilister, and stop her from spilling any more information to the enemy.

Whilst the humans and Nikkes recuperate in Eden, Nihilister's outrage leads her to scream, promising fire and death for the ones who dared humiliate her with defeat. Liberalio is quick to shut her up, noting how badly Nihilister has failed the Queen. Should the Fire Dragon fail to raze Eden, there won't be another chance. When asked about her mention of Lilith, Nihilister insists that she was buying time by bluffing to the humans. Leaving one final warning that the Queen is always watching, Liberalio returns to slumber. Nihilister herself can only grumble about her only concern being turning Eden into a charnel house.

#### Chapter 22

Lured by a call signal, Nihilister finds a gaping hole in the ground that leads her to the Ark, and finds herself in the company of Counters once more. While she *was* just going to burn a few things and leave, she's found the Ark more pleasant than expected and plans to stick around, maybe reclaim the remains of Chatterbox and Indibilia (Material H) while she's here. The Ark squad's needling is all the excuse the Fire Dragon needs to try and reduce them to ashes.

As the battle rages on, Nihilister notices *something* in the room she's fighting in is reducing her output. Throwing her hands in the air, the Fire Dragon takes to the skies and decides to simply incinerate the entire building and Counters with it. While she's occupied with overwhelming the fortifications deployed by Enikk, a beam of light falls and pierces Nihilister, sending her tumbling to the ground. The Pilgrim Dorothy has arrived, declaring her intentions to save the Ark...

#### Chapter 24

Thought to be defeated by the Inherit leader, Nihilister faked her death as she was dragged by Dorothy to the M.M.R. core. She sacrificed her weaponry to Material H, thus allowing them to resurrect Indivilia, another Heretic.

### Liberation

*Story appears to occur between Chapter 20 and before the events of Chapter 21 due to \*Spoiler reasons\**

#### Episode 1 - Meeting

Some time after the Nihilister operation, the protagonist remained in Eden to assist Johan and Cecil with their work. He meets up with the latter, having planned an operation to seek out Nihilister. Cecil approves of this, as despite Liberalio's intervention, it's unlikely that Nihilister has managed to fully shake off the Vapaus' effects. With the "Fire Dragon" weakened so, Cecil sees an opportunity, either to try and turn the Heretic, or end her for good, both prospects equally feasible to the protagonist. Cecil then remembers that Johan is also setting out to track Nihilister, and suggests the protagonist team up with him.

The protagonist has a flashback to some of Johan's previous words, noting to himself that the mildly-grizzled Eden commander also seemed to be accepting of his presence. He voices his assent to this idea, and Cecil decides to notify Johan of the upcoming joint operation. Since the Alva particles are too high for stable communications in the mission area, whoever first finds Nihilister will need to use a flare to signal the other. Cecil dismisses the protagonist, hoping he and Johan will return with news of Nihilister becoming a non-issue one way or the other.

At Nihilister's lair, Counters looks over the Heretic detector. Anis has her reservations over its efficacy, but Rapi and Neon are more confident. As Counters continues their small talk, the protagonist hears something. It's not the detector with its beeping, but a dragging sound that the rest of the squad can also hear. Sounding mechanical but not quite like a Rapture, Counters moves closer to the source.

They find a pile of wrecked machinery, seemingly coming from nowhere. Rapi vetoes the idea of picking any of it up as the noises begin again, and the squad finds less parts on the ground as they get closer to the noises. Eventually, they find the source of the noises.

Despite being so far away, Nihilister's figure is all too recognizable amongst the scrap, devouring and shoveling metal to try and repair her body. Seeing their target, Counters being using hand signals, and decide to back off behind a boulder before firing the signal flare. Some distance later, they notice the crunching sounds have stopped. Fearing they've been detected, Anis peeks over the boulder, only for the Heretic detector to go off with its usual beeps.

Anis tries to shut up the detector with a smack, but it's too late. Feeling like she's being watched, Nihilister obliterates the boulder Counters was hiding behind with a single fireball. Pondering how she's been found, Nihilister wonders where Inherit squad is before coming to the conclusion that Counters thought they could take the weakened Heretic by themselves. As the Heretic blusters that she can still destroy Counters, Anis readies the signal flare to call Inherit. Nihilister decides to take solace in the fact that no one would have the guts to face her alone before remembering what they were all talking abot previously.

Remembering how Nihilister pleaded for her life by promising to kill the Queen, the protagonist wonders if she's really intent on assassinating the Queen. Nihilister asserts she is, but if the squad would rather there be bloodshed, she's all too happy to oblige. As Anis goads the Heretic to beg for her life, Nihilister retorts that *she's* the one with the cards here, knowing about where the Queen came from, what kind of existence she is, and even how to kill her.

Rapi warns the protagonist against trying to negotiate with a Heretic, but he decides to hear Nihilister out. The latter can scarcely believe this negotiation is actually getting anywhere, and sits atop some machinery, warning Counters that she'll only say this once.

#### Episode 2 - The Seeds of Rebellion

Atop her pile of scrap, Nihilister goes on a small lecture about the origins of the Queen and the Heretics, asking the protagonist what he thinks the Queen originally was. The protagonist guesses it was a Nikke, and the Heretic compliments his perception. The Queen, Nihilister herself, Liberalio, Indibilia, Anachiro, and countless more. All of them used to be corrupted Nikkes who, by some inscrutable process, were reshaped into their ideal forms.

Nihilister became the Fire Dragon to better sate her lust for battle. Liberalio took the form of a deep-sea creature in her desire for tranquility. As for the Queen...as much as it may seem a twisted joke, even to Nihilister, the Queen became as she is out of maternal instinct.

Parsing this information, Rapi notes how eerily similar this is to Nikke production. A female's brain is transplanted into a body made to her desires, forged by some unknowable manufacturing. Anis is much less concerned about who copied who when it came to making Nikkes or Heretics, simply wondering how this origin talk leads to killing the Queen.

Nihilister explains that all living things have an innate curiosity about their origins, and that unlike the rest of the Heretics, the Queen's body was not fully subsumed by the process that forged her. Thus, the remnants of the Nikke that existed before the Queen are still physically present. The protagonist has a flashback to Nihilister's plea bargain, where she mentioned the body of "Lilith", supposedly both the Queen's predecessor and key to her demise.

The protagonist brings up the topic of Lilith's body, and Nihilister notes that rumors about its whereabouts have spun everywhere. Some say it's buried in the ice of the north, others say the Queen keeps it under lock, key, and guard. The Heretic elaborates that by bringing Lilith's body to the Queen, she will be lured to it, drawn in by her original incarnation.

Anis grills Nihilister for details on *how* Lilith's body is supposed to kill the Queen, but the Heretic can't seem to recall. While Counters makes their consternation clear, the protagonist can tell Nihilister is simply refusing to give them what they want. The Heretic simply calls it a moment of capriciousness on her part, and claims she might be more pliable in about three days. It's clear that she's trying to buy time to recover, but Nihilister is intent on leveraging this information as much as she can to stay alive.

Rapi warns the protaognist against making any rash negotiations. If they let Nihilister get back to full power, they might not have another chance to take her out. The Heretic in question bemoans how complicated this discussion is getting, claiming it should be a simple choice between killing a servant of the Queen and killing the *actual* Queen. The protagonist concedes the point, but fires back that defeating Nihilister has favorable odds, whereas killing the Queen is more of a gamble. In response, the Fire Dragon reaches a compromise. One day's reprieve, no use of the flare until tomorrow's sunset, and she will talk about how to kill the Queen. As a bonus, she'll even include whatever other information she knows. This is as far as the Heretic is willing to compromise, and if the others are unwilling to settle this peacefully, well, she has no problem making sure she'll have company down in hell.

The protagonist furtively agrees to this offer, and Nikke, commander, and Heretic form an uneasy alliance...

#### Episode 3 - Tug of War

The protagonist wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling a pressure on his waist. He sees Nihilister, and finds himself wrapped in her tail while Counters has their guns ready. It would seem Nihilister has reneged on their nonaggression agreement, and taken the protagonist hostage.

With renewed initiative, Nihilister interrogates the protagonist, asking him just *what* secrets he has that Chatterbox would risk his life to tell her? The protagonist begins to black out as the Heretic slowly chokes him out. No matter what, he cannot tell her the secret of his blood, so he pulls out his gun as a last resort. The Heretic scoffs at the idea of him shooting her. Even with her auto-repair compromised, she's not so weak that a human-wielded popgun of a firearm could actually harm her. Then she decides the gun must be loaded with a flare, to signal the squad from Eden to come in. Nihilister ponders over whether those fakers could save the man in her grip before she snaps his neck, but the protagonist insists neither will happen, for she will die first.

While Nihilister parses this comment, the protagonist points the gun at her. The Heretic calls him on his bluff, remembering how he waffled about using Vapaus on her last time. Thus, the use of Vapaus should have been a one-and-done deal, unless...the protagonist *somehow* found more Vapaus in the research center, or Eden actually had some extra doses stashed. The Heretic demands he talk, which he agrees if she lets him go. Nihilister loosens her grip on his neck, and after berating his human-level frailty, grills him for answers.

The protagonist tries to tell the Heretic that he acquired more Vapaus, which Nihilister is interested in, since the only remaining batch *should* have been in the one in the research center. If Eden was the one who had it, then that must mean they're sourcing their Vapaus elsewhere. The protagonist decides to echo the Fire Dragon's argument, claiming his memory will defog if she lets him live.

Nihilister's gaze hardens as she warns the protagonist and co. against trying to mess with her. While she remarks on how she could kill the man before he can pull the trigger, he's more concerned whether Vapaus can kill the Queen. If Vapaus is so important to both of them that they're willing to fight and kill for it, it should be a simple choice for Nihilister. Kill one measly human commander, or kill the Queen?

Having a flashback to her earlier words, the Fire Dragon roars in laughter. A human being *this* mouthy to a Heretic? Were it Liberalio standing here and not Nihilister, the man would've been shredded on the spot. Yet Nihilister can't help but find such defiant arrogance admirable. The gumption to go up against an unassailable foe, rising to fight over and over. It makes her want to tear him apart so much she's willing to play ball with his demands.

Nihilister's ultimatum is thus; the protagonist has 24 hours to cough up what he knows about Vapaus, or she's turning him well-done.

#### Episode 4 - Strong One

While waiting out their respective deadlines, Nihilister beckons the protagonist, coiling him in her tail and dragging him into her reach. She marvels over how confident he seems, not flinching or closing his eyes when facing her these past two days. Barely a smidge of reactions, even when she reminds him that her mouth is the source of her fiery breath, and could boil him with a sigh.

Looking at the small human in her grasp, Nihilister remembers something Chatterbox told her. It seems Nikkes who remain with the protagonist for extended periods of time exhibit greater combat strength than usual. Curious about what causes this, the Fire Dragon invites the protagonist to try triggering this phenomenon with her, and pulls him closer to allow for more intimate contact. Rapi warns the protagonist against letting his guard down around Nihilister, but the Heretic laughs off her concerns.

Pressing further, the protagonist asks Nihilister if she truly wants to experience what effect he'd have on her, and she's somewhat eager. After all, this is the squad and commander who used to quiver in their boots just running into Chatterbox, and now they have the gumption to mouth off to *her*, one of the Queen's vanguards whom they recently unhorsed. Why *wouldn't* she want to find out what makes them tick? Seeing an opportunity, the protagonist makes his pitch, asking Nihilister to fight for humanity instead of the Raptures.

The reception is lukewarm at best. The thing Nihilister wants is something not even the Queen can give her, let alone one measly human commander. It's why she roams the skies picking a fight with anything that moves, rather than being a subservient doll to the Queen. Tiring of this cyclical conversation, Nihilister reiterates their respective ultimatums, when a beam whizzes by and nicks her cheek.

Counters notices a swarm of Raptures on the horizon, the incoming fire just barely missing them and Nihilister. Confused, the protagonist wonders why the Raptures are also attacking the Heretic. She explains that much like how the Ark and humanity have their internal conflicts, so too do the Raptures and Heretics. It would appear a "certain jellyfish" does not like the fact that Nihilister has been shooting the breeze with a human, and sent her subordinates to keep an eye on proceedings, or even take out the Fire Dragon for good.

Feeling particularly slighted, Nihilister readies her cannons, the distinctive glow of a Dragon's Breath building in the barrels. Counters and the protagonist just barely manage to take cover as a familiar searing heat washes over them. A massacre ensues before their very eyes as Nihilister shrugs off countless beams, slagging, pulping, and burning the horde.

Spectating the carnage, Counters discusses just *what* is Nihilister made of, to be able to solo an entire horde in a weakened state. They settle on a theory that it involves the Rapture technology incorporated into a Heretic's body, but with only assumptions to work off of, they're just glad that same force isn't being pointed at the Ark...yet.

#### Episode 5 - Heart of Fire

Counters peeks out from cover to see the slaughter Nihilister has wrought, slag and charred Raptures wafting the air with the aroma of burning metal. While Counters marvels over the ruination, Nihilister transforms back and lands in front of them, reveling in the destruction and mayhem she caused before checking to see if the protagonist is still alive. His affirmation is a boon to her, both because of the blackbox contained inside him and the fact that all this talk has made the man rub off on her a little.

This little tidbit makes Nihilister sigh as there's no more time for their information exchange. With how much hell she was raising, there's no doubt Inherit has triangulated her location and are making a beeline as she speaks. Before she departs, she offers the protagonist a "consolation", in that next time he ends up in her grasp, she'll look for a way to get the blackbox without gutting him like a fish. The protagonist tries to ask for Nihilister's cooperation in killing the Queen, but the Heretic reminds him she's already betrayed humanity. Moreover, she's already made it clear that what she wants is something he can never give her.

The protagonist ponders on whether such a statement is true, to which Nihilister decides to elaborate what *exactly* she wants. She's not just looking to dethrone the Queen. She's looking to utterly *decimate* the Queen, her kingdom and troops either taken away by her hand or trampled beneath her heel. She wants to become an ultimate existence like the Queen, a supreme one without equal on the surface. It stands to reason that such a path would require countless grueling battles, and she sees everyone, from Counters to Eden to Liberalio, as more stepping stones on that path.

Nihilister calls herself fire incarnate, and fire must burn fuel to survive. She asks the protagonist if humanity can provide her with near-limitless fuel, threatening to raze the Ark if they cannot. The man's silence is all the answer she needs, pondering that no rational person would want to see their birthplace burn to the ground. A gruesome crunching accompanies Nihilister's transformation, and she request the protagonist survive until they can fight again before taking off. While Counters watches her go, Anis takes steps to make sure everyone's stories line up when Johan and Inherit arrive to check the situation. As far as anyone knows, Counters immediately got into a firefight with Nihilister and the flare gun was destroyed by a lava pool. There was no talk with the Heretic or attempts to negotiate for her cooperation. While the protagonist feels bad about tricking Johan like this, Rapi assures him that at least the squad is now privy to exclusive intel on the Queen and the Heretics, and that whether it worked or not, attempting diplomacy with Nihilister was the right move to make.

While waiting for Inherit, the protagonist stares into the sky, seeing the clouds Nihilister punched through on her flight. The setting sun dyes the sky a deep crimson like the Fire Dragon herself. The protagonist laments that a day like this may never come again, where that flame that would even burn itself was within his reach, but perhaps that is what made *this* day so unique. After all, the flames that burn fastest also burn the brightest...

## References

Notes

References