Nemesis Sudou


 * For other uses, see Master of the Hellish Yard (disambiguation)

"Sinful man... Now, repent."

- Nemesis Sudou

Nemesis Sudou, codenamed No. 8 and also regarded as the Master of the Hellish Yard, was an assassin in the USE Dark Star Bureau's PN and the underling of First Santa Claus. After carrying out a job to kill her lover Nyoze Octo, she swore vengeance on her former master and father, becoming possessed by the Demon of Wrath.

Early History
"Sir, sir! This is terrible! Your wife and Lady Michelle were in an accident. The ship they were voyaging on sank! Just before it arrived into the harbor, the ship was attacked by an octopus that I've never seen so huge before and—"

- Rennert

Born from an adulterous affair between Gallerian Marlon and Kayo Sudou, Nemesis was raised out in an abandoned house in the Millennium Tree Forest in EC 964 by her mother alone, and grew up in isolation, never knowing her father's face. Around EC 970, she adopted a small ziz tiama as her pet and named it "Mr. Ziz", playing with it in its tank throughout her childhood.

Later that year, her mother left and locked the child inside the house. While she awaited her mother's return, Nemesis was tormented by the twin voices claiming she was abandoned. Eventually, the girl began to stop sleeping for fear of waking up alone and began to scream for the door to be unlocked. Accepting her apparent abandonment, Nemesis succumbed to the voices' claims. At some point, she was unknowingly contracted to the Demon of Wrath.

Later on, Nemesis met a man on the neighborhood streets and superimposed the image of her unseen father onto him. Becoming a duo, Nemesis and her partner committed numerous crimes together, becoming increasingly twisted. After Nemesis' pet ziz tiama killed her step-sister, Michelle, and Gallerian's wife in EC 978, Nemesis happily played with her enlarged pet by the harbor. Nemesis and her partner were later captured and brought before Gallerian in court.

After the judge sentenced them to be executed for their crimes, Nemesis was offered exemption from her sentence on one condition: she became an assassin for the USE Dark Star Bureau's PN espionage force; Nemesis accepted the terms and joined Gallerian's secret organization. Given the codename No. 8, Nemesis moved to the city of Rolled and lived among the public while working as a PN agent for her new master. Whenever she was mailed orders to assassinate a target from "First Santa Claus", Nemesis obeyed the instructions and completed each assignment, killing numerous targets for PN.

An Impossible Romance
"Sorry..."

- Nemesis to Nyoze

In spring of EC 982, she saw a soldier investigating her killings while under a sakura tree. After seeing the katana on his hip, Nemesis closed her eyes to ignore him; when he suddenly approached her, the assassin was surprised and they began to converse. Despite the man, Nyoze, being on the side of justice, she began to like him and the two fell in love.

Later that year, Nyoze was convicted by Gallerian for murder before escaping incarceration and taking shelter with Nemesis in Rolled. During the summer, Nyoze decided to take her to a fireworks festival. Garbed in eastern kimono, he grabbed her hand and led her towards the festival, prompting her to smile. During the event that night, they watched the fireworks together and she smiled again. At some point during the event, they pinky promised to always be together. On an autumn night, he hugged her tightly and the two became a couple.

That winter, the end of EC 982, Nemesis received a loaded gun and new orders addressed from Santa to kill Nyoze. Wracked with grief, Nemesis brooded over the scenario and curled up on her bed against the wall before finally accepting her mission. Conflicted, she met up with Nyoze under the sakura tree where they first met, pointing her revolver at him.

Absolutely torn, Nemesis began to cry as she readied to fire, wishing he wouldn't look at her so fondly since everything was her fault. After she apologized, he spoke to her, grabbing the barrel of her gun. Shocked, her trembling finger fired the gun, killing him. After he collapsed on the ground, Nemesis cradled his corpse as she sobbed. Regretting everything that had happened, the assassin remembered the promise they had made to each other. She then reassured him they would meet again soon. Shortly afterwards, Nemesis fired a second shot at her temple.

Leviantan Civil War
"Relinquish your fortune. If you return everything you stole from the people, your life will be spared." "I will never hand over my fortune to you!"

- Nemesis and Gallerian

Having failed in her suicide attempt, Nemesis discovered she was a demon contractor; sometime after, Nyoze's brother Gammon approached the assassin and she shared what transpired. Afterward, the Tasan anti-government leader convinced her to swear vengeance on Gallerian. At some point, the enraged woman acquired Grim the End.

During the Leviantan Civil War in August, EC 983, Nemesis donned a mask and entered Gallerian's mansion as it was set ablaze during the revolts. She then confronted the Master of the Court while he held the Clockworker's Doll. Deciding to give him a chance to atone, the assassin offered to spare his life if he returned everything he stole to the people, gesturing while she referenced his fortune. When Gallerian refused, Nemesis resolved he was beyond help and drew her gun. Pointing it at his head, she offered her father the chance to either die shot in the head or burning in the mansion's hell fires. She then noticed him comforting his "daughter" and, enraged, put the gun to his head and prepared to shoot. Wishing him goodbye, the assassin fired.

Rise To Power
"Now we are all... sons of bitches."

- Someone following the successful test of Punishment

After the civil war, Nemesis was charged with Gallerian's murder and was subsequently imprisoned. Around EC 989, she was pardoned for her crime and released. Afterwards, she joined the "Tasan Party" in Elphegort and elected as the party's vice leader. When the party's leader, Gammon Octo, suddenly disappeared, Nemesis succeeded him as President. By EC 993, the Tasan Party gained power both locally and internationally, allowing them to gain control of the Elphegort government.

Nemesis then became a dictator and ordered the Elphegort army to invade Lucifenia. Sparking a war with the USE, Nemesis immediately allied her nation with Beelzenia and Jakoku, and war spread across the entire world. As the war dragged on, Nemesis witnessed its carnage and came to believe "Evillious" was hell and that she was its master, deciding to completely obliterate it as the "Master of the Hellish Yard". With the USE army pushing a two-front offensive upon Elphegort, the dictator ordered her military to launch a secret project to develop the nation's newest weapon: Punishment.

In EC 998, a prototype for Punishment was created and moved to the Millennium Tree Forest for testing. With a golden key in hand, Nemesis inserted it into the Black Box and fired the weapon, resulting in the entire Millennium Tree Forest being scorched by the blast. After the weapon's successful test, the dictator decided to have the weapon aimed throughout all of Evillious. Having had numerous models of Punishment pointed across the world, Nemesis destroyed all life in the Third Period. Around this time, Nemesis was murdered by the Punishment boy.

Afterlife
"I... destroyed the world?" "Oh for the love of, you don't even know your own cause of death? You stupidly used Punishment on your own country. So—that means everyone, you bitch!" "I did... No. I didn't destroy the world. I destroyed Hell. Yes—that hell called "Evillious"."

- Nemesis and Allen Avadonia

After her death, the insane Nemesis was judged by the Master of the Hellish Yard for her sins and kept in the underworld. After the ground world began merging with the Hellish Yard, Nemesis escaped and ended up in the Grave Yard, wandering the wastelands in search of her mother, "Ma". She eventually found a black clock tower among the Second Period technology there and decided to head up to get a better vantage point for her search. Once she reached the viewing platform, the former dictator constantly looked over the railing for Ma across the vast area.

During her search, Nemesis noticed two boys fly down nearby on the platform, startling her. Recognizing them as the Punishments, Nemesis questioned why they were there before realizing the two were different from the identical boys she knew. After one introduced himself as Allen Avadonia and asked what she was doing there, Nemesis explained her reasoning. When the other boy, Hänsel, said he didn't see anyone else there, Nemesis shook her head and insisted Ma had to be there. The boy then insisted no ordinary soul could get there and the former assassin related that Ma wasn't a soul, elaborating that she was still alive and wandering the ground.

After Allen walked up to Nemesis and told her that they were in the Grave Yard and that no one should be still alive since she destroyed the world with Punishment, the confused woman questioned his assertions. Allen then angrily snapped at her for not remembering she "stupidly" fired the weapon on her own country and therefore killed herself and everyone else. Considering his words, the mad soul finally insisted he was wrong and that she destroyed the hell called "Evillious". As she continued that it was the "boy" who looked just like them that killed her, Nemesis suddenly screamed in terror and jumped over the platform's handrail.

Falling down to the ground, the former dictator dashed toward a nearby hill. After retrieving Punishment along with the black box and golden key to fire it, Nemesis stood with the boy atop the hill. As she prepared to fire it, the two boys from earlier arrived and rushed over toward her. When Hänsel leaped at her, the former assassin easily dodged the assault and inserted the key to activate the weapon. As the boy called to his "mother", Allen quickly jumped at Nemesis and wrestled the key from the terrified woman's hand. Punishment then fired, enveloping Nemesis and everything else in its explosive light.

Legacy
Following the destruction of the ground world, the mortal realm began merging with the Hellish Yard and all souls of the Heavenly Yard were pulled from the heavenly world into the hellish domain's new land. Shortly after its destruction, the god Sickle prepared to intervene and tasked Allen with meeting some of the souls who had been possessed by the Demons of Sin.

Personality and Traits
Nemesis was a ruthless young woman, eventually consumed by her wrath and desire for vengeance against her father. As a child, she acted like a cheerful girl and often played with her pet ziz tiama she affectionately referred to as "Mr. Ziz" throughout her younger life.

Raised in seeming isolation, Nemesis treated her mother, Ma, with love and respect, and looked to her for guidance. At the same time, Nemesis was wounded by her mother's sudden departure and seeming abandonment. Although at first in denial, the girl eventually accepted the outcome.

Tormented by the voices of Hänsel and Gretel, Nemesis slowly slipped into insanity, becoming more and more paranoid by her apparent abandonment. Fearing to even sleep on the chance she'd still be alone when she awoke again, the girl grew desperate to escape her home. As time went on, the girl began to losing feeling for her emotions, other than her wrathful hatred for her situation. After becoming a criminal, Nemesis only became increasingly twisted as her crimes escalated, eventually becoming desensitized to killing from a young age and becoming a cold-hearted assassin.

Having never known his face, Nemesis became unwittingly obsessed with her father, even latching onto her partner in crime as a father figure in his place. As a result, the child was extremely loyal and more easily influenced by her partner and later her "master", Gallerian. After discovering her father's true identity, Nemesis was desperate for Gallerian's affection. However, she also came to deeply care for Nyoze, despite being on opposing sides; as a result, her two conflicting loyalties caused her great anguish, and drove her to attempt suicide after ultimately fulfilling her mission for Gallerian.

However, with her suicide attempt failing, she developed an immense hatred for her father and swore vengeance upon him for her lover's death; fueled by the influence of the Demon of Wrath, Nemesis' hatred turned into blind rage and she sought retribution for Gallerian's numerous crimes.

As a result, she justified her vengeance via Gallerian's corruption in the Dark Star Bureau and cruelty towards the populace. But, despite originally being a killer for hire, Nemesis also held a sense of justice, albeit warped, and began to act on feelings of self-righteousness following her lover's death. She also believed that anyone, no matter how vile, deserved a chance to atone for his crimes, albeit giving them only one chance.

Nemesis also hid a deeper loathing for her father, envying Gallerian's obsession with her step-sister, Michelle. Aware Gallerian believed the Clockworker's Doll to be his long-dead daughter, Nemesis considered him hopeless scum that had vainly gone mad in the hopes of not losing her. Despite being aware of that fact, Nemesis grew furious of Gallerian acknowledging the doll as his beloved daughter instead of her, fueling her hatred towards him and causing her to snap during their final confrontation.

After her father's death, Nemesis became a political activist as part of the Tasan Party and embraced her powers as dictator, enveloping the world in a massive war. After witnessing what Evillious had become during the conflict, the mad dictator determined that it had become Hell itself, and believed that it was her mission to wipe away the world corrupted by the vessels of sin; as a result, she considered herself as both the Master of the Hellish Yard and Death itself, the destroyer of all, including "Hell", through Punishment. Sometime after her rise to power, Nemesis also adopted a more antiquated way of speaking, referring to herself in a formal but archaic manner.

Skills and Abilities
Nemesis was a trained killer and had immense skill with wielding a revolver. In addition to this, she was able to maintain a steady aim on her targets, unflinching even when suffering under intense heat; her skill with killing eventually gave her recognition as PN's best assassin. After becoming part of the Tasan Party, Nemesis gained immense political power within the decade. As the dictator of Elphegort, she held absolute power over the nation, its people, and especially its military. Following the development of Punishment, Nemesis was able to freely fire the device at will using the golden key she carried and could potentially wipe out all of the Evillious region with the weapon.

Due to her contract with the Demon of Wrath, Nemesis was unable to be killed by ordinary means, essentially making her immortal. Despite this, the contractor's wounds didn't automatically heal while near the demon's vessel, leaving a serious scar following her suicide attempt. Regardless, she was still able to wield Grim the End, allowing her to use the demon's power to kill other contractors through the vessel; to complement her fighting style, Nemesis transformed the golden key into a bullet for her revolver.

Character Connections
Nyoze Octo: Nemesis' lover. Nemesis loved Nyoze deeply despite her opposition to him as an assassin, growing close to him over the time she spent with him; as a result, she was naturally willing to harbor him as a fugitive after Gallerian convicted him. Because of this, Nemesis was conflicted about her orders to kill Nyoze and, afterwards, experienced deep regret at his death. This regret warped into wrath following the event.

Gallerian Marlon: Nemesis' master and father. Nemesis was originally loyal to him as "Santa Claus" and followed his every order as her master. After he forced her to kill her lover, however, she grew wrathful towards Gallerian and saw him as deserving to die; she also displayed envy of the love and attention Gallerian gave to the Clockworker's Doll, wishing he'd acknowledge her, his actual living daughter, instead.

Ma: Nemesis' mother. Knowing her as Kayo Sudou, Nemesis saw her mother as a maternal figure while growing up and would look to her memory for guidance in life. Although loving her in contrast to the hatred she eventually harbored for her father, Nemesis questioned why her mother would ever love such a corrupt man.

Michelle Marlon: Nemesis' step-sister. Nemesis greatly envied her due to the love she received from their father Gallerian, wishing to receive the same love from him as well.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Nemesis is the goddess of vengeance in Greek mythology.
 * In Roman mythology, "Invidia" is sometimes attributed as the equivalent to the Greek goddess and is the Latin name for the Deadly Sin of Envy; Nemesis' apparent mother, Ma, acts as the replacement for the unawakened vessel of Envy and uses the body and identity of Kayo Sudou.
 * Nemesis bears many similarities and parallels to the German dictator Adolf Hitler; both became dictators of their respective countries, held the title "Führer", and participated in worldwide wars; fittingly, Elphegort is also inspired by Germany.
 * Nemesis' actions in the Leviantan Civil War take place in August, the eighth month of the year, possibly referencing her codename; she also has an "eight-armed" octopus as a pet.
 * Prior to The Muzzle of Nemesis album being announced, mothy posted a poem entitled "Nemesis" on twitter, seemingly alluding to the events depicted in the album; at the end of the poem, mothy stated it was a late night work and didn't have any meaning.
 * The Master of the Hellish Yard's relation to the Hellish Yard is connected to the event of Hell in Hieronymus Bosch's The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things.

Curiosities

 * Nemesis' codename, Eight, and subordination to "Santa Claus" parallels Gumillia, codenamed Eighth Sniper and subordinate to First Santa Claus in Père Noël.
 * Her featured song in the Seven Deadly Sins Series was also uploaded on August 8th; humorously, mothy admitted he had uploaded the song on that date by pure coincidence.
 * Wondering what happened to the original incarnations of the Servants, Gammon Octo questioned if they needed to ask the Master of the Hellish Yard to find an answer.

Gallery
Concept Art=