Fang-od "Fang" Ingkal-dageman

### Dislikes

Disappointing her ancestors and comrades, the confusing aspects of the English language, people who speak English too quickly

## Magic

### Principle

Decapitation

**Fang-od Ingkal-dageman** is an agent and assassin of the Snake Tong, part of Unit 8, or the "Cloak and Dagger" Unit. Despite her young age, she was trained since early childhood the art of the Headhunter. Born to a tradition of headhunters originating from Kalanguya the Ingkal-dageman (Those-Who-Behead-With-Wind) served as deadly warriors to their tribe, honing themselves to become embodiments of the concept of cutting and decapitation, but when their tribe embraced a more peaceful transition brought by the American Colonial era, the Ingkal-dageman found themselves without a purpose until Fenghuang recruited Fang-od's predecessors and gave them a chance to continue their tradition of creating deadly warriors, with Fang-od following in their footsteps. Do not let her size and demeanor fool you, a single cut could spell the end when Fang-od wields her axe and blades.

## Background

Born the only daughter of the previous Inglak-dageman headhunter, a man named Chacha’, who served Unit 8 as one of its oldest members, only to leave active service at age 45 to raise his young daughter in the art of headhunting in the Border Realm. Fang-od vividly remembered climbing the mountains of the Cordilleras so she and her father could enter a hidden gate to "Nakayang Bel-ew" or "The High Forest", a region of the Border Realm characterized by dense jungles and forests covering rugged hills and high-altitude mountains. She learned how to adapt and survive, how to make her own weapons, how to hunt and forage for food, the prey being monstrous beasts from giant flying mosquitoes to armored giant spiders, their chitin so tough that she had to learn the art of her lineage, the ability to decapitate a target regardless of how much protection they have and regardless from what angle one would strike. Her final test was to delve into the deep nests of the armored spiders and wipe out the entire brood with nothing but a single torch and an axe. She entered the Forest a girl, she left it at age 15, a warrior.

Her father shortly retired once she took her oath and became an official member of the Snake Tong. A tradition that the Inglak-dageman followed is that once their successor takes on the mantle of Headhunter for the family, the predecessor retires and gets a new profession, typically trainers for the Snake Tong. Chacha’ chose to train members in survivalist skills in the High Forest. Fang-od got assigned to her father's old Unit and was immediately welcomed by its members, saying stuff like "So that old man was able to get an adorable daughter". Much to her surprise, she was treated like a little sister of the Unit, especially by Katja, Gjerta, and Mitsune. It was surprising to her at first, but she eventually got used to it. Fang, who lived in isolation and only learned how to survive, hunt, and kill during her childhood, was stunned by the modern technology and lifestyle found outside her home, and had to learn how to adapt to her new environment. Unit 8 was responsible in teaching her the basics of reading and mathematics, as well as how to act in society, which further reinforced her treatment as a younger sibling. Her natural curiosity made it easier for her to learn about new things, even picking up English that she can read and understand, but would sometimes still have trouble speaking it out loud. As a child, she was only ever taught to speak her native Kalanguya and Tagalog, as she was not expected to negotiate or talk to foreigners. Her job was to kill, after all. Her time spent with Unit 8 has made her treat them like the elder siblings she never had, as she was an only child, and would defend her Unit with such ferocity, as many opponents would see whenever they are deployed as a full team.

She continues to serve the organization to this day as one of its dangerous assassins, while expanding her knowledge about the rest of the modern world, learning about other fascinating cultures of other nations and such, while maintaining her skills and status as the resident Headhunter of the organization.

## Personality

Fang-od presents herself as a serious, oath-bound warrior, dedicated to serving the Tong, which is basically the new "tribe" of her family, and making sure her title of Headhunter is honored. Whatever enemy she is sent to kill, she makes sure she returns with their heads. To her, she is giving her foes a warrior's death at best, or a swift end to their miserable lives at worst. She is the type to constantly size up her enemies, peering for their weak points.

Despite her time adjusting to modern society and improving her communication skills, Fang is still rather taciturn when it comes to dealing with people. But it is more of her still feeling this sense of awkwardness and fear that she may say something bizarre when she is in a conversation instead of her being completely stoic about everything. If you see her frowning and staring at you while you try talking to her, don't take it as something bad. She's just doing her best to maintain composure and not mess up the conversation. Unless of course you did something wrong towards her, then that frown actually has malice. She is genuinely curious about most things in the world, especially those she has yet to encounter, and is polite and eager to meet people from different places and backgrounds.

She is the "Actions speak louder than words" type of girl, especially when it comes to speaking to other members who only know English. She has yet to master the language, but she tries her best to convey what she wants to say by acting things out in front of the person she is talking, or pointing to objects around them that might give context clues. She has taken to read a lot of the kids' encyclopedias that came in volumes and eventually made it a hobby to just read about a various amount of topics on the internet ever since she got a phone.

Fang is an avid outdoorsy type, and feels a sense of claustrophobia whenever she stays indoors for too long. She still can't get rid of old habits, like traversing the forested mountains as a morning routine. When in urban areas, she always gets this urge to climb the tallest structure she sees and see the view from the top. Whenever Katja and Gjerta go out on hiking trips, she is the first to join in. She is very respectful to her elders and seniors, her family emphasized respect for one's elders and ancestors, and she follows such tradition to the letter. Respectful and polite whenever she speaks, much to Mao's chagrin when Fang asked her about the different swears and insults one would throw in battle. That was the first time the Stray Cat heard someone say "go fuck yourself" like it was a formal request. With English being something she is still studying, she can be sometimes oblivious to forms of expressions and other weird intricacies of the English language. One time some Units got together for a "Beer and Boardgames" night and they played a table top role playing game, she once had this exchange.

*Monika: The door to the temple was ajar.*

*Fang: How is the door a jar?*

*Monika: It's slightly open.*

*Fang: I climb into the jar.*

## Abilities

### **Magic**

Fang-od, like many of her predecessors who became part of the Shiai-shi were trained in the basics of magic, using it as a tool instead of a study Her enhanced senses as a hunter has made it easy for her to detect traces of magical energy in her surroundings, which is what she considers the most useful, second only to the Reinforcement spells she uses to augment her combat capabilities.

### **Martial Arts**

Fang was trained to be a headhunter since she could walk and hold a weapon, making her a natural in wielding swords, axes, knives, and even throwing appears and bows, although she doesn't usually utilize the last too that often. The harsh training she went through has hardened her body despite her small physique. She can take punishment and still provide swift death like an Assassin. Growing up in the High Forest, she is incredible when surviving and working in jungle and mountainous environments. She becomes a top-notch predator when it comes to an area that resembles her home. Tracking, Trapping, Stealth, and Outdoor survival are her forte.

In terms of fighting style, her Headhunter techniques combined with Arnis, albeit more violent and centered around dismemberment. She favors quick and brutal takedowns, always aiming for vital areas. As for defense, she mostly uses the principle of "Defanging the Snake", which involves going for an opponent's wrist and arms when they attack, coupled with retreating footwork. In short, her defense is more counter-attack oriented. Her weapon techniques also translate into unarmed combat as well, and she could utilize the standard attacks and counterattack methods with her hands and arms. A Headhunter must turn their entire body as a weapon even without a knife or an axe, after all. Training with Katja and the rest of Unit 8 has also made her proficient in Teräskäsi or "Iron Hand", combining Reinforcement magic with brutal close-quarters combat.

***Ingkal-dageman***

A Transcendent Technique that has reached the zenith of a decapitation technique, the pride of her family and is the technique were her lineage got their name from. Also known as "Those-Who-Behead-With-Wind", the technique allows Fang to bypass most mundane and even magical protection in order for her to cleanly cut off the head of a target. Once used, the technique lets the user embody the Principle of "Decapitation" and makes an attack always hit the neck of a target, making it ignore space and time. This results in an always accurate and almost unblockable decapitation regardless of where the strike hits a targets' body. However, it can be blocked by an equal or greater technique or spell. Essentially, a cut with the technique that hits the leg will quickly correct the time and space of when and where the cut was done, moving the strike of the blade from the leg to the neck. This also applies to armor. Instead of hitting the protective armor, the hit transfers to the neck. She can perform the technique in rapid succession but it is rather taxing on one's stamina, and would require hours of rest before she can perform it again, once the adrenaline and lust for battle run out. Fang utilizes the technique for when she needs to take down a target as soon as possible. She can also adjust the lethality of her strike and can just make a cut enough to wound someone but not enough to decapitate them. Fang can use the technique with anything that can be used to cut, but it is best used with her headhunting axes which are made exclusively to cut off heads. Her axes are more lethal with the technique compared to a knife.

The technique got its name in the past when their foes thought the Ingkal-dageman headhunters used unseen razor-sharp wind to decapitate their targets.

### Equipment

**Headhunter Axes**

Fang-Od's main melee weapons, two axes made with the design used by her predecessors, who constantly improved and adapted their weapons to fit their own styles. The axe with the more familiar standard head is what she typically uses as a throwing weapon, for chasing opponents or skirmishing purposes. Its handle is enchanted go return to the user upon uttering the word "Balik". The other axe, the one with the more gruesome looking head, is what she mostly uses in a melee as an offhand weapon. Its design allows it to deliver both hacking and piercing attacks that can cause severe damage if the enemy keeps their guard down. Unlike its throwing counterpart, this axe's head is the one to be enchanted so that it provides more weight and damage when being swung down on an enemy, without actually causing the weapon to feel heavier. An unprotected neck is an easy target for decapitation.

**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. Fang likes to wear the undershirt of the suit a lot, and is usually seen in this outfit when doing everyday tasks.

**Snake Key**

A standard issue Shiai-shi Key, custom-made and designed after a Spearhead-style Igorot knife. 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. Fang could then exploit this weakness and perhaps send in air bullets to enter his body from the arm, which is no longer as protected as the rest of his body.

**"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.

Fang's mask features a bone-white skull design for intimidation, as well as geometric patterns adorning the sides, resembling the tattoos of headhunters.