Monika "Grimoire" Bergmann

**Monika "Grim" Bergmann** is a member of the Snake Tong and is the Magic Specialist of Unit 9, the Bad Batch. A highly talented magus originally from the Grand Order of Magi's Covenant of the Rhine. Political intrigue and general dislike from her Order Peers resulted in an assassination attempt that nearly killed Monika. She was saved by the Bad Back at the most opportune time, who healed her up and gave her a new place to call home, and a group to call friends and family. When asked who's the brains of Unit 9, it's clear that the bespectacled lady has got the Bad Batch covered.

## Background

Born into an old Grand Order lineage in Germany, Monika was a prodigy when it came to magic. She mastered fundamentals at the age of 7, created her first fully secured workshop by 9, and earned a the rank of Initiate by 12. She was the heir that every mage strives to groom. She however had Alexithymia, a personality construct characterized by the sub-clinical inability to identify and describe emotions in the self. This is evident in her inability to identify her own emotions and the emotions of others. This greatly affected her social skills, and her solitary magus upbringing didn’t really help in that matter. She was excellent when it came to magic but suffered when interacting with people.

Regardless of her shortcomings in social events, she was a very talented magus for her age. This intelligence culminated in her rising through the ranks in the Order. She became part of the Covenant of the Rhine's Covenant Court and she proudly took the position to heart. She was unable to form a friendly bond with the rest of the members, however, and she was secretly ostracized by her peers, as well as resentment for her being too much of a "Know it All", which culminated in her being marked for assassination in order to make a spot for a new and more socially adept member of the Order.

She was ambushed in her own home and left for dead by people she once thought as comrades. It was in her near-death state that she realized why she was betrayed. She nearly accepted her death when a certain John Agnote of a Bad Batch stumbled across her wounded state coincidentally during his team’s mission in Europe. She was patched up, the team heard her story, and they offered her a spot in their team and the organization they worked in. Seeing as that there was nothing left for her in Germany, she agreed and soon became the specialist in magic as well as the “brains” in Unit 9. Her intellect and expertise in magic greatly ensured their operations were successful. Although she could have easily gained a better position as an artificer, she somehow felt a strange kinship with the band of misfits, and she quickly found herself a group that she would first consider as friends.

## Personality

Monika is a woman that used to not show many openings to others, at least until she joined the Bad Batch. Always calm and analytical, she has this cold, no-nonsense air about her, especially from the point of view of those who aren’t that well acquainted with her. She does have some personal fondness for cats, as seen with her favored choice of animal familiars.

Despite her stoic expressions, she is very talkative and communicative, which can sometimes be too much for some people. She eagerness to dispense trivial knowledge about any given subject without hesitation or reason, especially when the subject is related to magic. She tends to become oblivious to what was going on in her surroundings .when confronted with a task that demanded her full concentration unless if it was a matter of life and death.

She has a degree of alexithymia, which makes people wonder if she is an android or a homunculus due to her inability to properly grasp her own emotions as well as the emotions of others. This makes it difficult for her to read the room, and she can sometimes say things that others might view as insensitive. She herself knows of her condition and seems to have taken a more logical approach to analyzing her emotions. She is fully aware of her short-comings, and even though she can sometimes take the unnecessarily complicated methods to try and express her feelings, her squadmates from the Bad Batch seem to properly understand her, unlike her past “colleagues” that were simply grew frustrated with her to conform to social norms.

Although her squadmates do wish she would speak up during emergencies and she knows what’s wrong in a situation, but does not tell her unsuspecting squadmates. She does not do this out of malice, but is instead genuinely believes that the problem was pretty obvious from the start, much to the chagrin of others.

She has an encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to the many branches of magic, including their respective histories and nuances. She also has a vast wealth of knowledge when it comes to non-magi intellectual stuff such as mathematics, science, and philosophy. The former has earned her the alias of “Grimoire” or “Grim” for short, since she was likely a walking grimoire with all the info she can dispense in a short span of time. She can get rather passionate and even angry when someone is being incorrect about something that she is knowledgeable of and has the audacity to act all intellectual even though Monika knows they are wrong.

She is fluent in German, English, and has recently become proficient in Tagalog after spending enough time with the Bad Batch. She has the habit of writing down notes, whether or not it’s for an important event, or just something mundane as how to cook chicken adobo. She does not care for rank and is simply glad that she has found a new place to call her home and a new job that  can allow her support her personal projects and experiments.

Despite most people seeing her as disinterested in romance and flirting, especially when people try to flirt with her and it flies over her head, Monika can sometimes surprise people with comments that suggest she is interested in both men and women. Many wonder if she is joking, but they can always never tell at a first glance.

## Abilities

Monika is a Jack-of-All-Trades as a magus, with excellent proficiencies in several fields of magic such as Alchemy, Familiarcraft, Medicine and Artifact creation, etc. She is very competent in these fields, which pretty much allows her to carry Unit 9 when it comes to the arcane arts. Outside of magic, she is also an excellent data analyzer and tactician, which helps her squad in terms of formulating quick battle plans, even under pressure and heavy combat. This also allows her to solve technical issues at speeds that could make people mistake her for some futuristic AI.

But her main specialization is the magical field of "Paradoxcraft", which utilized the Principle of "Paradox" and powered spells that were essentially paradoxes, from "Moving without walking" (Short Range Teleportation) to "Grasping without touching" (Telekinesis), or "Seeing without Seeing" (Detecting Life through walls at long range). throughout her time in the Grand Order, she studied Paradoxcraft greatly, and has actually contributed to many of the Order's research journals about it,

*"There are few mages who actually devote their lives to the study of Paradox, I myself am one of them. The other schools are far more predictable and ascertainable. The act of experimentation in this School of Magic, no matter how objectively implemented, can influence Aether, influence Mana by its very existence. Therefore the Mystic must consign themselves to finding dependable patterns within a scattered imbroglio of energy. In the time it takes them to devise an enchantment with a consistent trigger and result, their peers in the other schools may have researched and documented dozens of new spells and effects. The Mystic must thus be a patient and relatively uncompetitive philosopher. The intense physical and mental strain of using Paradox also means that a magus must be physically and mentally fit, as well as have an abundant amount of Lines."*

*-Monika Bergmann*

### Martial Arts

Martial Arts-wise, she was trained in Magi Ringen during her time with the Order, a variant made for magi that involves a wrestling-based fighting style that includes punches, joint-locks, elbow strikes, chokeholds, head-butts, armlocks, leglocks, and kicks. She is also skilled in "Nachtklinge" or "Nightblade", a fighting style that combines sword with sorcery. This allows her to be competent in defending herself and fighting other martial artists, only reinforced by further training in the Shiai-shi, and the other useful techniques and styles Monika has incorporated in her own arsenal. Despite her fighting capabilities, she prefers to use magic or simply her mind in solving problems.

### Equipment

**Grim’s Glasses**

A custom made pair of glasses that allows Grim to magnify her vision and record footage that can be replayed in her mind’s eye, as well as provide protection from bright lights, both mundane of magical in nature.

**Snake Key**

Monika is armed with a stiletto version of the Snake Key for weakening the magical energy in Bounded Fields and Reinforcement armor.. The blade itself was made with special materials that are not necessarily strong enough for heavy combat. The pride of the Pranaja Empu smiths, the steel during forging blessed the property to disperse mana. Since it disperses magical energy, the blade of the knife can't be reinforced with magic. However, the reason why it's named a key is because users can create holes within certain points of a Bounded Field. Since the blade merely disperses mana and not outright destroys it, it creates thinned and weakened areas in a Bound Field that is more susceptible of being bypassed physically without triggering an alarm for the owner.

It can also be used against an enemy using Reinforcement on his body. If the Key is stabbed onto the target's arm, for example, the magical energy of the reinforcement spell disperses to other parts of his body and his arm is now more weakened thanks to the lower amount of mana for reinforcement.

**S11 'BB' Bulletproof Body Suit**

Standard issue magic armor that Snake Tong provides its members. It is a black suit which was made to be bulletproof (tested with 9mm, 7.62, NATO/.308) and provides magic resistance, dispelling low level spells. It is considered to be one of the iconic uniforms of the Shiai-shi. The suit is made with a composite of multiple magical materials, a major one being Huohuan Bu Silk from a Spider Yaoguai. This makes the Suit durable (enough to withstand modern gunfire and magical projectiles), easily enchantable with magic, and has innate fire resistance. If the Suit was stained, one simply needs to burn the area with the stain and the mess will soon disappear without damaging the cloth.

**"Shroud Ties"**

Shroud Ties are standard issue magic armor and head protection, cleverly disguised as neckties that allow them to blend in with the Bulletproof Snake suit style. By pulling down the tie and channeling mana through them, the ties transform into balaclava masks that provide full coverage of the head and neck. The material is made to be as bulletproof as the suits and also provide the same magical protection. The Shroud Tie can be deactivated by the user removing the mask, and it will turn back into their necktie forms.

Monika keeps the standard issue mask with a small insignia of the Bergmann family on the side of the mask.

**Rhine Regalia**

She seems to have retained her old Rhine Covenant Uniform, which she uses for disguises despite its formal appearance. The uniform is enchanted with hidden runes and sigils that aid the wearer to survive all sorts of environmental conditions.

**Rhine Service Sabre**

The service saber Monika kept, despite leaving the Order. It is used as a tool for performing magic, amplifying the user's magical energy to assist with spells and strengthen them. Filling it with magical energy allows for it to be utilized as a magic wand at any time to form magic circles and affect physical divine mysteries. While it is called a sabre, it is not meant to be a weapon used for slashing or stabbing in its ceremonial nature, but it can function as such as a sword.