Bruno Octo

"*Perhaps I’m mistaken on my morality of the world society we live in. But the world’s never really going to get better just by yelling about love and peace.*"
―Bruno
**Bruno Octo**, also known as the **Cursed Gardener**, was a USE soldier, the leader of the Tasan Party, and a descendant of Gumina Glassred. Losing his brother to Elluka Marlon's injustice, Bruno joined the anti-government organization in opposition to the blatant corruption. Years later, he came to Evil's Theater in search of the Venom Sword. Put on trial by the Director Doll, he was saved by the Waiter and became a choreman for the theater inhabitants.

## History

### Early Life

"*Then... could you at least return that–that katana to me? It’s a very important heirloom passed down in my family!*"
―Bruno asking Elluka Marlon for the Venom Sword
Born as the second son of a member of the Octo Family and the younger brother of Nyoze in the Union State of Evillious in EC 960, Bruno lived in Levianta's Samadin region with his family. Born with a curse from his ancestor Gumina Glassred that gave him an uncontrollable lust for men, Bruno tried combating the curse by distancing himself from men and carving anti-demonic runes onto his body, to no avail.

Later on, Bruno became a sergeant major in the Leviantan military. In EC 978, his commander Tony Ausdin had him and his brother assigned to tend to the playwright Ma while he lived in the army quarters, Ma told to ask Bruno or Nyoze for anything he needed. That same year, Nyoze was framed and convicted for the murder of Medea Col by the Dark Star Bureau Director Elluka Marlon. After Nyoze's trial, Bruno quit the military.

He then attempted to set up a meeting with the judge for several days. Unsuccessful each time, Bruno traveled to Ellika's mansion that night, refusing to be sent away. After he pleaded with Elluka that Nyoze was innocent, the judge threatened him with the ramifications of his words and he silently listened to his reasoning for Nyoze's guilty verdict. Bruno then tried to at least retake the Venom Sword from Elluka's custody and failed, Elluka forcing him to leave after. Embittered, Bruno became president of the Tasan Party.

### For Justice

After Nyoze escaped and became a fugitive, Bruno kept contact with him while he lived in Rolled under the name of one of Bruno's subordinates, "Shakuson". As president of the Tasan Party, Bruno began working tirelessly from both Levianta and Elphegort to put an end to Elluka's corruption. Over time, he also began suffering from not having contact with the Venom Sword, understanding that whatever was inside the sword had acted upon him like a drug while it was in his family's possession. He also requested that the real Shakuson go by the name "Ben" from then on.

In EC 982, Bruno began looking into Michelle Octo, the perpetrator of several killings in Rolled and Nyoze's friend, by Nyoze's own request. Obtaining documents from Elluka's aide Gammon Zero, detailing among other things Elluka Marlon's history with the playwright "Gakuga Octo", Bruno discovered that Michelle was Elluka's illegitimate daughter and an assassin for the Dark Star Court's secret espionage force, PN. He subsequently wrote a letter to Nyoze keeping him updated on current events, as well as suggesting he continue observing Michelle as she could be key to taking down Elluka.

When Bruno received a reply from Nyoze, his brother had stated his refusal to use Michelle; furthermore, Nyoze instructed him not to hurt her if she ended up shooting him for her employers. After Michelle shot Nyoze in December of EC 982, Bruno had her tracked as she fled to Retasan and then had her abducted from her hotel room. In private, Bruno met and spoke with his brother's killer, learning that she had fled to avoid her employers, whom she now hated.

When Bruno brought up that one of them was her mother, she asked for him to confirm this and he shared with her all that he had learned about Elluka and Gakuga Octo. Bruno then began trying to convince Michelle to join the Tasan Party once she initially refused. As he did, he covered a variety of topics with her and discussed the various objectives of the party, including ending the corrupt Dark Star Bureau, ending the war going on in Evillious, and stopping the discrimination of native Netsumas in Elphegort.

As Michelle continued to have doubts, Bruno espoused his philosophy of achieving justice even if one had to do bad things to do it; when the conversation turned back to Nyoze, he pointed out how he had refused to use her and wanted to save her until the very end. After this, Bruno successfully convinced Michelle to join the party and take revenge on those like Elluka, who had taken her loved ones from her.

### Leviantan Civil War

The following year, Bruno attended Tony Ausdin's trial for the slaughter he instigated at Zenosai and the murder of Shiro Elphe, observing as Elluka give Tony a not-guilty verdict. Not long after, he joined Michelle at Shiro's grave and listened as she talked about her relationship with the woman, pointing out that Elluka had betrayed her memory by her recent verdict. The two chatted for a time about the progress of the Tasan Party and the strange occurrences happening in the world; afterwards, Bruno had them leave the grave, explaining how the time for revolution was at hand with the disgruntled populace and soldiers.

Bruno also instructed Michelle to take revenge by killing Tony and Elluka, herself. A month later, in August of EC 983, the Tasan Party instigated a civil war in Levianta led by Bruno Octo. During the fighting, Bruno led the militia to murder Jason Jack as their first victim, in retribution for his committing the murder that Nyoze was framed for.

Bruno's troops then targeted the corrupt official Bindi Freezis, only for Bindi to be smuggled out of Arongrad. After USE soldiers were brought in to quell the riots, Bruno was able to turn the disgruntled soldiers onto the side of the militia due to his military background. On August 10th, Bruno and his men successfully captured the Dark Star courthouse and arrested Gammon Zero.

Finding Elluka had escaped, Bruno had her tracked to her house; he and the militia surrounded the house and waited for Michelle to arrive, instructed to let her handle Elluka. While they waited, they were attacked by blue flames, which surrounded the mansion. After Michelle arrived and asked about the fire, Bruno explained what had happened and watched as Michelle seemingly began talking to herself over it. He then tried and failed to convince Michelle to leave Elluka to burn to death, only watching as she went inside and confronted her. Not long after, Michelle shot and killed Elluka as they'd agreed.

### Evil's Theater

"*I carry this fearsome curse upon my body and, to undo the curse, the sword passed down from my ancestors was needed. I came to this forest, alone, to seek it.*"
―Bruno's "testimony"[src]
Following the Leviantan Civil War, Bruno reformed his organization as a political movement in Elphegort and the Tasan Party became immensely popular in the wake of Gallerian's downfall. When Michelle's history in the criminal gang Zeus was discovered and she was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, Bruno used his influence to arrange a shortening of her sentence; in EC 989, Michelle was released from prison and rejoined the party, becoming elected as its vice leader below Bruno.

Years later Bruno, still suffering from his uncontrollable lust, ran away from Aceid, unable to do his job properly. He then headed for Evil's Theater where Elluka Marlon's fortune allegedly had been stored, hoping to find the Venom Sword there. After he arrived at the theater, he managed to elude the Master of the Graveyard and Arte and Pollo; however, he was then knocked unconscious by Worldeater.

Shortly after, he was trialed and sentenced to death by the Master of the Court. As he awaited his execution, the Waiter stepped forward and recruited him to be their choreman. With few other options, Bruno became the new "Gardener" of the theater, replacing the mage and playwright, Ma. At some point, Waiter cured his curse using the Venom Sword.

Afterward, Bruno began cleaning up after the residents and doing any jobs they needed of him. He also began helping Ma with creating screenplays about various characters related to the Seven Deadly Sins for the theater. Using his Purple Dream ability, he was able to detail the lives of his ancestors to better understand his curse; using the experiences he envisioned, the Cursed Gardener was able to adapt numerous historical events into screenplays.

Around this time, he had a dream envisioning the Master of the Court's future should her utopia be realized. Concerned about its relation to the world's destruction in EC 999, he wrote down his vision as one of the screenplays, although the other theater residents paid it no mind when showed the screenplay. He was also made the replacement for the unawakened vessel of Lust.

In EC 998, Bruno attended the "trial" held by the Master of the Court, searching for the vessel of Wrath, annoyed they didn't just have a normal meeting. During the assembly, he explained his need for the Venom Sword after being given permission by the Master of the Court. Later, Bruno was tasked with organizing the court "motions" for the Master of the Court and he reviewed the cases while reflecting on what they learned from each story. When Evil's Theater was destroyed by Punishment along with the rest of the world in EC 999, Bruno perished with the rest of the theater's inhabitants.

### World's End

"*For this 'evil’ we must extinguish–we need only target five people.*"
―Bruno addressing the Tasan Party
Following the destruction of the Third Period in EC 999, Bruno was one of the many human souls trapped on the ground world as it merged with the Hellish Yard. He then joined the efforts of Irina Clockworker, Elluka Marlon, and Nemesis Marlon to save the world, not given the full details but knowing that they would enact a Re\_birthday with the irregular twins Hänsel and Gretel, and that they needed all the most compatible Demon of Sin contractors. After Hänsel reconstructed Evil's Theater, Bruno watched a film there about the vessels of sin until his comrades, the spirits of the Tasan soldiers, arrived to the theater.

Bruno then addressed them at the center of the gathering, talking about the "evil" that had plagued the world through its various catastrophes and the circumstances of the world's destruction by Michelle Octo. Claiming the soldiers must destroy the source of all evil to save the world, Bruno implored his comrades to use the Black Box Type X that they had to target Gumina Glassred, Carlos Marlon, Alexiel Lucifen d'Autriche, Gakuga Octo, and Michelle, as part of their "god-given" mission.

Bruno then returned to Evil's Theater, residing in the Director's room with Elluka. When Alexiel came to confront him with the other sin contractors, Bruno met with the boy and discussed his reasons for going back on his debt to him, albeit directing him to ask the Sleep Princess when she was available. He then offered what little information he knew about the current state of the theater and its inhabitants. Hearing someone enter, Bruno left the rest of the explanation to Elluka and left for the entrance.

There, Bruno found Michelle, Rin, Carlos, Banica, Hänsel and Gretel come to confront them. Wielding a gun and sword, Bruno took on Michelle and Rin while Carlos, Banica and the twins attacked the others. Hänsel and Gretel then ran out to Bruno during their duel; they were followed by Alexiel, whose soul had been possessed by Ma and who had absorbed all of the other sin contractors. Although trying to attack Ma, Bruno was quickly dispatched and only watched the confrontation between him and the others.

When, in response to Ma, Hänael initiated the Re\_birthday prematurely, Bruno panicked before the reformatting began. Watching Ma escape the theater, Bruno urged Rin to kill Alexiel to save the world and briefly attempted to kill Michelle to prevent Ma from using her as well. He was soon after trapped in the theater while Rin and Michelle escaped. As part of their invocation of the Court ending, Bruno was caught in the "reformatting" by Irina and traveled to a repeat of the Third Period, eventually reincarnating.

## Personality and Traits

"*What I think we ought to prioritize more than anything else—is justice! As long as we have that, our world can become a utopia…And I’m prepared for there to be sacrifices to achieve that.*"
―Brunos
Bruno was an individual embittered by his experiences. As a result of the corrupt climate of the USE, Bruno originally was instilled with a strong sense of justice which he took to extremes. Wanting to end the suffering in Levianta and Elphegort at any cost, Bruno espoused an ideal that the ends justified the means and that one should be willing to do bad deeds, even murder, if it meant protecting someone else or ending corruption. Although seeming to take a more nuanced view of "justice" later, Bruno continued to despise corruption and, at the world's end, espoused extreme methods to "save" it.

Following his introduction to Evil's Theater, Bruno appeared more pessimistic, often sighing and despairing of the outcome of his or others' endeavors. As part of this, through the use of his Purple Dream ability, Bruno became concerned about the outcome of collecting the vessels of sin, believing that EC 1000 would herald the world's destruction. He also became hostile to the idea of pointless and harmful heroics being justified with "justice", seemingly in spite of his attitudes in the Tasan Party.

Despite these demeanors, Bruno was not distressed by how he had become used to living in the theater with the inhuman inhabitants, although sometimes exasperated by their strange natures. He also considered himself different from humans, possibly due to his being affected by the Venom Sword. Bruno himself remained concerned with this "curse" and suffered as though from drug withdrawal without the presence of the sword. Aside from this, he was interested in learning about his ancestry and origin using his prophetic ability. He was also very observant, taking notes and formulating theories on all he learned while in the theater.

At the world's end, Bruno appeared to put aside his misgivings with Elluka, working with her to revive the world. Despite this, he still maintained his extremist facade when in front of the other members of the Tasan Party.

## Skills and Abilities

"*Every once in a while, I tend to get prophetic dreams. When I do, I write them down. I thought maybe they could be useful in some way.*"
―Excerpt from Bruno's writings[src]
Bruno was trained in the Union State of Evillious military, attaining the rank of Sergeant Major, and as leader of the Tasan Party he exerted great skills in management, charisma, military leadership, and investigation. Besides this, he inherited his ancestor's prophetic dream ability he denominated as "Purple Dream", allowing him to dream events from either the past or future. His ability to peer into the past was assumed accurate, used to help construct the screenplays about past events with Ma. However, his ability to see the future was often inaccurate, estimating his vision about the alleged utopia having less than a fifty percent chance of being correct.

Although dubbed the "Gardener", Bruno's work at Evil's Theater ranged from tasks of choreman to that of a secretary, filing and organizing the transcripts for the Master of the Court's "court cases". He also had skills as a scriptwriter, collaborating with Ma in creating the screenplays of Evillious' past. Because of his visions and collaboration with Ma, Bruno became very knowledgeable of Evillious' history with the Seven Deadly Sins, creating several theories about the different people he envisioned.

Due to his curse resulting from his enchantment by the Venom Sword, Bruno uncontrollably lusted after men to the point that it crippled his life, with the Venom Sword being able to assuage his curse whenever he was near it; this led to his addiction to the Venom Sword's presence, which he himself likened to being addicted to opium.

## Character Connections

Nyoze Octo: Bruno's brother. Bruno and Nyoze were close, with Bruno trusting Nyoze completely and becoming motivated to take down Elluka in the wake of his brother's false conviction. As part of this closeness, Bruno utterly respected Nyoze's word, not killing Michelle on his request despite her being his killer.

Michelle Octo: One of Bruno's partners. Although initially knowing her as his brother's killer, Bruno hoped to use Michelle to bring down Elluka and, as Nyoze additionally had loved Michelle, spared her and sought to turn her against her former employers. The two worked closely together in the Tasan Party until Bruno's disappearance into Evil's Forest.

Elluka Marlon: The man who condemned Bruno's brother. Following Elluka's false conviction of Nyoze, Bruno became contemptuous of Elluka's greed and corruption. As such, he became dedicated to bringing her down at any cost. After the world's destruction, he set aside his hatred for Elluka to invoke the court ending.

Master of the Graveyard: A fellow member of Evil's Theater. Bruno initially saw the Master of the Graveyard as an obstacle towards getting the Venom Sword and eluded him. After becoming the Gardener, Bruno cohabited with him as with the rest of the inhabitants of Evil's Theater.

Master of the Court: A fellow member of Evil's Theater. Bruno acknowledged it was only her naivete and not real malice that allowed her to be manipulated into executing visitors, but disagreed with her idea of Utopia. In addition, he was exasperated with her adherence to trials rather than regular meetings, although Bruno was not willing to face the Master of the Court's anger if he spoke on the matter.

Waiter: A fellow member of Evil's Theater. Bruno thought of him as a spoiled boy, understanding his selfish reasons for saving him. As the choreman, he would do some of his work around the theater and was curious about his resemblance to Hänsel Twiright.

Ma: A fellow member of Evil's Theater and the previous Gardener. Bruno got along with Ma well enough to help him with his screenplays using his Purple Dream ability, learning more about the past via their relationship. He also served as his employee, tending to his garden. Despite this, he disagreed with his theory that utopia would result from the sins being gathered.

Gumina Glassred: Bruno's distant ancestor. Bruno showed an interest in learning about his heritage since making his way into the theater, learning about her using his Purple Dreams.

## Trivia

### Conceptualization and Origin

* His surname is derived from the Greek and Roman prefix *octo*, meaning "eight".

### Curiosities

* In the Evils Court booklet, Bruno does his job as a "clerk" via organizing the songs in the album and leaving his commentary for each "court case" from the Evils Court booklet.
* Due to their lineage to Marchioness Glassred, both Bruno and Nyoze had the potential to develop Hereditary Evil Raiser Syndrome and pass it onto future generations.

## Appearances

* Capriccio Farce
* Master of the Court (song)
* Master of the Heavenly Yard
* Deadly Sins of Evil: The Lunacy of Lady Glassred
* Deadly Sins of Evil: Judgment of Corruption
* Deadly Sins of Evil: The Muzzle of Michelle
* Deadly Sins of Evil: Master of the Heavenly Yard
* Waltz of Evil: The Deadly Sins of Evil Guidebook
* Seven Crimes and Punishments (story) (alternate timeline; indirect mention only)
* Outlaw & Lychgate (indirect mention only)
* Quartets of Evil (non-canon appearance)
* Evils Court (first appearance)
* The Muzzle of Michelle (album) (mentioned only)
* Seven Crimes and Punishments (album) (mentioned only)
* Master of the Heavenly Yard (album)
* Clockwork Lullaby (album)