Ney Phutapie

"About what I said... please make it confidential."

Ney Futapie, real name Ney Marlon, is the thirteenth daughter of the Marlon Royal Family who infiltrates the Kingdom of Lucifenia for her birth mother, Prim Marlon. She is one of Gretel's reincarnations.

Early Life
Ney was born in Marlon in EC 482 as the illegitimate daughter of Prim and King Arth. She was given to Abyss I.R. to be experimented on. When she was eight, her brother Kyle painted a portrait of her. In EC 491, after reporting her Uncle Presi's failed attempt to possess the six-year old Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche to the sorceress, Abyss I.R. sent the child back to infiltrate the Lucifenian palace. Ney was later found unconscious by Mariam Futapie and subsequently adopted by her. Under her mother's tutelage, she learned the art of spying and assassination.

Sometime after, she became a maid at the palace, serving Princess Riliane after the 13 year-old assumed the throne in early EC 499. Following Abyss I.R.'s instructions, she transplanted the Demon of Pride to Riliane. Several days after Riliane became the governing monarch, Leonhart Avadonia asked Ney to find Mariam so she could look at the new palace servant, Allen. Obeying, Ney entered the Hall of Mirrors and found her foster mother speaking with Elluka Clockworker. Politely apologizing for interrupting the womens' conversation, Ney alerted Mariam of Leonhart's request and the Head of Maids complied, leaving with Ney to fulfill her friend's request.

Reign of Evil
On December 27th, EC 499, Ney swapped places with Allen Avadonia for taking care of Riliane for the day. Around three o'clock, Ney entered Riliane's room to present the princess with her snack but found it empty. She thought she had gone by the mirrors but then noticed the hidden passage dug inside the fireplace and realized she escaped. Shouting for Riliane and on the verge of tears, Ney was found by Leonhart, Allen, and Chartette as she passed between some mirrors. She told Allen that Riliane was missing and joined the search for her in the Forest of Bewilderment.

That night, during the ball held for Riliane's fourteenth birthday, Ney and the other servants were working to make up for lost time due to the search for the spoiled princess. Ney called out to Allen and reminded him that they still had one more task to do; she, Allen, and the other servants brought in the huge birthday cake for her highness. Nearly a week later in EC 500, Ney witnessed Leonhart stealing from the palace barns to feed the citizens and began spreading the rumor throughout the palace. While she and Allen were busy preparing dinner, Riliane stormed into the kitchen demanding to know where Mariam was. Ney explained that her foster parent had gone out for the day and, hearing this, Riliane asked Ney if she knew who was stealing food from the palace.

Ney looked at a nearby chef as she explained she heard a rumor from the chefs about the incident, and justified that none of the servants were stealing the food. The princess noted Ney's inclination for gossip and asked why she knew about the rumor. Lost for words, the chef intervened and helped explain what he had seen and Ney finally admitted that Leonhart was the culprit, threatened with being beheaded otherwise. Later, Ney told the princess that she heard "rumors" about Leonhart being in multiple love affairs, killing many compatriots, kidnapping a baby from one warring countries, and attempting to overthrow Lucifenia.

The day following her confession, she entered the Servant Room. Asked if she was taking a break and she said she was. As the servant prepared to finish his break, Ney told Allen she heard Leonhart and her mother conversing about him and listened in. Piquing the boy's interest, Ney continued and said she learned Allen was the knight's adopted son and that he was sent to the palace for a reason. When Allen explained the reasoning, Ney shook her head and said Leonhart planned to have the servant assassinate the princess, much to her mother's surprise and fury. Before finishing her gossip, Allen left and ignored the rest of her words.

Shortly before Allen and Riliane had enacted their scheme to assassinate Leonhart that night, Ney had told Allen about his mother's crushes. She was later bedridden due to the flu around the time Allen was sent to visit Keel Freesis at his mansion. After Riliane learned that Kyle broke off her engagement, Mariam was tasked with discovering the identity of the king's secret lover; sent to the Kingdom of Elphegort to investigate, Ney arrived at the Freesis' home with another messenger, explaining what had transpired at the palace. After learning of his maid, Michaela, the double agent returned to Mariam and told her she learned nothing regarding the mysterious girl's identity. At some point, she learned that Michaela was Elluka's disciple who was assisting her in collecting the Seven Deadly Sins.

Green Hunting
During the Green Hunting, Ney spied on Allen as he visited Keel in prison and overheard their conversation about Michaela and her location. At some point, she learned from Mikina that Michaela was hiding in a well in the Millennium Tree Forest. She would later tell Riliane about this in the Servant Room, asking to keep her information "confidential" when Allen arrived. Appearing nervous, she left and waited outside the doorway for the servant. Overhearing their conversation, Ney apologized to Allen as he exited the room, learning he was ordered to kill Michaela. Allen forgave her and Ney asked if he was actually going to kill the green-haired girl. When the servant responded that he wasn't sure, Ney disguised herself as Allen and approached Michaela's hiding spot the following night.

Fooling the disciple, Michaela asked why she dressed in a cloak and sounded a bit different. Ney gave her excuse and said that the princess knew of her location and she needed to be moved. Michaela turned to prepare her luggage and Ney took advantage of the opportunity. Charging at her, the assassin knocked Michaela down the well, breaking her back at the bottom. Laughing, she descended the ladder and removed her disguise. Maniacally crying out to her mother of her success, Ney laughed again before stabbing the "Lonely Magi" Elluka's disciple in the chest. Confident the girl was dead, Ney left.

Lucifenian Revolution
Sometime later, Ney, Chartette, and Riliane talked together in the Heavenly Yard. Chartette justified her leaving the palace to buy books by blaming Ney for often leaving as well. Ney timidly responded she did so to meet with "friends" and Riliane asked if her friends were men, which Ney said wasn't the case at all. Following Prime Minister Minis' attempted assassination, Ney joined Chartette and Allen as they overheard the meeing. After accidentally touching her breast, Ney argued with the fellow maid until Allen silenced them both.

In late EC 500, Ney was among the servants who fled during the invasion of the palace. She returned to the Heavenly Yard to find Mariam injured and told her she was looking for her. Once Mariam told her to flee, the golden-haired child stabbed her foster parent in the back and left her to die. After the revolution was over and her brother occupied the Lucifenia, Ney reported that Germaine, Elluka, and Gumillia were involved in Michaela's murder and fed them information on their possible whereabouts. Soon after, she returned to Marlon and saw her mother, Prim, again for the first time in nine years. The agent reported of the princess' execution and the dissolution of Three Heroes. Prim was concerned that Elluka was still alive but Ney assured her that the sorceress wouldn't interfere. Congratulating her daughter, Prim told her to rest and leave the rest to her.

Military Service
When Kyle asked to use the Espionage Task Force to assist in his Witch Hunt, Abyss I.R. assigned Ney as its head. With absolute freedom to anything in regards to the Witch Hunt, the golden-haired assassin and her underlings tracked and hunted down those listed in the Witch Hunting Order. In EC 505, the task force was ordered by Kyle to travel to Retasan for his planned invasion of Beelzenia, expecting them to find and capture Gumillia, now the court mage and adviser to the Beelzenian Emperor. To assist with her mission, Abyss I.R. gave Ney the Glass of Conchita and instructed her on its usage to add Beelzenia's deceased to Marlon's ranks. Insisting Kyle make her Retasan's commander in place of Liliane Mouchet, the king complied and gave Ney the position. With her task force, Ney traveled to Retasan and relieved Commander Liliane of her position. The Head of Espionage then crossed the border to the Beelzenian Empire after midnight and killed all guards on the night shift. The assassin then bought a bottle of red wine for the glass' reanimation ritual at the market in Rockbane and returned to the nearby cemetery. Soon after encountering Chartette, the former maid mocked her residence in the graveyard but noted its convenience since her corpse could then be buried there immediately.

Laughing at her sick humor, Ney approached her former colleague and reminisced how the former maids reunite as soldiers. When Chartette realized Ney killed her comrades and asked why she did it, the assassin continued to smile and jokingly tilted her head, asking why she needed a reason. Faced with Chartette's response that it was unnecessary because they were at peace, Ney gladly explained she came to announce that the truce between Marlon and Beelzenia was dissolved. Noticing the girl accompanying her former colleague, she asked about her and noted she seemed familiar. The girl admitted she didn't remember her and Ney gleefully introduced herself. Threatened by Chartette for trespassing if she didn't leave the country immediately, Ney scoffed an remarked that she was weaponless. The Beelzenian soldier retorted that her hands were enough and Ney questioned if she was even authorized to do so.

Commenting that Chartette intended to kill her like how she killed her mother, Ney feigned being hurt and lost her smile. After Chartette retorted in a panic that it wasn't her, Ney's smile returned and she stated she was kidding before admitting that she had killed Mariam. Brandishing her wine bottle, she offered to join her in a drink before "realizing" that she was the only one who brought a glass. The murderer said she'd drink alone, tearing off the bottle's seal, while Chartette would drink with Allen and the others later. After filling the glass to the brim, Ney gave them her best wishes and poured the wine onto the ground, laughing hysterically as the the ground shook and the two fled. With an army of the undead, Ney made the former Beelzenian Emperor's reanimation the commander and directed her forces to assault Rockbane among other areas. While there the task force confirmed that Germaine was also present in Beelzenia.

Although initially overwhelming the Beelzenian military, Ney's strategy was soon overcome and Beelzenia launched a counterattack on Retasan. The the golden-haired commander immediately requested for reinforcements but received only three thousand troops for her garrison. Armed with only eight thousand troops, Ney forced the battle into a deadlock to hold the fortress city. Days later, nightly raids from the Beelzenian army and rumors caused disorder within the ranks. To bolster their defenses, Ney conjured another legion of undead soldiers, which caused more disarray among her troops. With her deadlock broken and much of the city quickly being lost to Beelzenia in the following two months, Ney fled with her task force. The group later identified both Germaine and Gumillia had left the Empire.

At the royal palace in Lucifenia, Ney requested an audience with Kyle. Along with her task force, Ney entered the Hall of Sounds and knelt before the Marlon king. After Kyle voiced his disappointment in Ney's failure at Retasan, Ney smiled and indifferently responded that the mission was more difficult than she had expected. With Kyle's retort that her mission was incomplete and Gumillia remained at large, she reported what she had learned regarding the sorceress and Germaine and Kyle asked when she would be capable to capture her. Ney expressed her dissatisfaction with the undead soldiers' incompetence and, seeing Kyle was speechless, cast the blame for her failure on Abyss I.R. instead. Kyle retorted that the Espionage Task Force should have been better and Ney stated they were not suited for the battlefield.

When Kyle asked if she would hunt down the newly found targets, the Marlon commander answered no and said she would return home to have Abyss I.R. confirm if she was misusing the Glass. Kyle voiced his opposition but Ney declared it was necessary to know the vessel's full potential for the Witch Hunt. The blue-haired king bitterly complied but said the rest of the task force needed to remain. When Ney asked why, Kyle explained the task force wasn't needed for the assassin's visit and that he needed reinforcements in Lucifenia. Ney apathetically accepted his terms and, with a mischievous smile, said the all-female group was his and suggestively teased him about having too much "fun" with them before leaving the Hall of Sounds. She then departed for Marlon.

Endgame
In response to Kyle's voyage to Marlon after being freed from the Demon of Pride's influence, Ney and Abyss I.R. headed to Bariti Royal Metropolis. She later followed her mother to Castle Hedgehog and followed her order to begin building up an undead army via the Glass. Kyle and the Marlon army later assaulted the castle and engaged Ney's army. Residing in the clocktower during the battle, Ney watched Kyle enter with two soldiers and fled out the back door. Pursued by Kyle's troops, Ney easily killed them before returning to her mother's chamber, expecting praise for her actions. However, as the queen dowager ignored her, Ney's feelings of neglect caused her to succumb to her insanity and stab her mother, laughing maniacally as her matriach perished. Submitting completely to the Demon of Gluttony, Ney transformed and became dressed in the attire of Banica Conchita.

Driven into a frenzy, Ney attacked Kyle with unwavering ferocity and stabbed him in the chest. As she prepared to finish him off, Germaine intervined and distracted Ney long enough for Kyle to fire Chartette's rocket glove at the assassin. Ney was sent flying into the ceiling before crashing down onto the floor. Unconcious, the golden-haired girl was captured, tied up and left in her coma. Later that night, Ney appeared to Kyle in his dream from when she was six. Apologizing for the awful things she had done to those she hurt, Ney told her half-brother that she hoped they could be reborn and play together with Riliane and Allen as friends. The Demon of Gluttony then appeared and laughed at the child, saying that her wish was futile and that she would be instrumental in bringing forth the Master of the Graveyard. Ney, unaware of this, grabs the Demon's hand and bids Kyle goodbye, walking into the sea. During this time, Abyss I.R., while using Mikina as her medium, killed Ney and fled with the vessels of sin.

Legacy
By the time Kyle awoke, Ney was dead. She would be later buried in a cemetery next to her mother, Prim. When Abyss I.R. attempted to use the Glass of Conchita against Riliane, Ney hindered the glass' ability, stalling the sorceress until Germaine finally stabbed her cat familiar and subdued her. Ney's soul, having merged with the Glass, would later awaken as the female servant in Evil's Theater.

Personality and Traits
While undercover, Ney appeared to be kind and timid at times. She would often stutter and hesitate when nervous and would consider her words carefully out of an apparent fear of Riliane's anger, which she was careful never to provoke. She was considered honest but a bit "loose-tongued", gossiping about rumors and hearsay circulating within the palace often.

In truth, she is ruthless and cunning. Her gossip was carefully seeded lies used to manipulate Allen and Riliane in an effort to undermine the princess' rule and her timid personality was a guise to hide her carefully selected words. Ney was needy for affection from her birth mother, Prim Marlon, and appeased her mother's wishes so she could receive her affection. Her psyche was affected by Abyss I.R.'s experiments and, after wielding the Glass of Conchita, took a turn for the worse and developed psychopathic characteristics.

Eventually, the vessel of sin made her act and think like its original owner, Banica Conchita, and the lack of affection from her mother drove her absolutely insane. Towards the end of her life, Ney realized her sins and became consumed with grief before merging with the Glass of Conchita.

Skills and Abilities
During her stay in Lucifenia as a maid, Ney was skilled at doing chores. Allen states that she was better at her work than both himself and Chartette. She is also very skilled in cloak-and-dagger activity, having learned the art of assassination from her foster mother, Mariam.

Ney is also skilled in deception, maintaining her cover as a Marlon spy while feeding false information to both Riliane and Allen, which ultimately leads to the Lucifenian Revolution and the overthrow of "The Daughter of Evil". Similarly, she is able to disguise herself as her half-brother Allen and impersonate him well enough to fool Michaela.

As a reincarnation of Gretel, Ney is able to wield the powers of the Glass of Conchita. After obtaining it, she utilizes its powers over death easily, reviving an entire graveyard and transforming it into her undead army and command it with the strategic expertise of Banica Conchita.

Character Connections
Prim Marlon: Ney's birth mother. Ney expressed that her whole existence revolved around Prim and she took an addictive satisfaction in receiving praise from the latter. This need to be praised by Prim became Ney's entire motivation through the Story of Evil; due to this, Ney became infuriated in a moment when Prim failed to praise her and so murdered her.

Kyle Marlon: Ney's half-brother. Ney expressed no love for Kyle, seeing him as unimportant compared to Prim and manipulating him for her mother's ends; when he began to oppose Prim, she saw him as another enemy. Despite this, when momentarily free from her insanity a childlike Ney expressed the wish to play with him in another life.

Abyss I.R.: The mage who experimented on Ney. Ney's mental instability was due to the experiments performed on her concerning the Glass of Conchita.

Mariam Futapie: Ney's adopted mother. Ney held no loyalty or love for Mariam, only deceiving her into believing they had a mother-daughter relationship on orders from her real mother; she later murdered her during the Lucifenian Revolution.

Chartette Langley: A fellow servant of Riliane and later opponent. Ney often quarreled with Chartette over trivial things in their employment and she held no affection for her, seeing her only as an obstacle to her mother's plans. She later took pleasure in revealing herself as a Marlon agent to her and attempting to kill her.

Michaela: Ney's victim. Ney took great delight in killing Michaela as the apprentice of Elluka Clockworker, one of her mother's enemies, and as a catalyst for Prim's designs towards Lucifenia.

Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche: Ney's half-sister and employer. Ney often manipulated her in order to fulfill Prim's aims, such as in feeding her rumors and betraying Michaela's location to her.

Allen Avadonia: Ney's half-brother and fellow servant of Riliane. Ney often manipulated Allen during their employment together according to Prim's orders, such as telling the servant falsehoods about Leonhart so he would kill him and using him to discover Michaela's location.

Gretel: Ney's first incarnation. Ney got her loyalty to Prim from Gretel's relationship with Meta Salmhofer; she associated her mother figure with Meta, and so wished to please her.

Arte: Ney's previous incarnation. Ney's relationship with the Demon of Gluttony is credited to her connection to Arte, and the latter passed on to her fanatic loyalty towards her mother figures.

Female Servant: Ney's later incarnation. Ney's absorption into the Glass of Conchita led directly to the Female Servant's existence. They shared the same soul and Ney passed on her fanatic loyalty to her as she served the Master of the Graveyard in Evil's Theater.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Ney's name is derived from Nei, a character from the game Phantasy Star II.
 * Her name is partially inspired by the name of her representative Vocaloid derivative, Neru, both names sharing their first two letters.

Curiosities

 * Ney's dagger has a retractable blade and can be used as a hair accessory, which allows conceal it in her ponytail, as shown in Interlude of Evil: The Daughter of Evil Worldguide.
 * In The Lunacy of Duke Venomania, Neruneru Nerune is a spy, foreshadowing Ney's role during her service to Riliane.

Gallery
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