Gretel

"Hey mother, praise me, I defeated the evil witch."

- Gretel

Gretel was a girl kidnapped and raised by Eve and Adam Moonlit, and the twin sister of Hänsel. Born as part of Project 'Ma', the newborn twins were taken by their mother, Meta Salmhofer, to Held's Forest and raised by the Moonlit Family after Eve killed Meta. After being abandoned in the forest during a famine, Hänsel and Gretel murdered their foster parents and split Eve's Original Sin into the Seven Deadly Sins.

Early Life
Gretel was born along with her twin brother, Hänsel, in the Levianta Royal Institute as part of Project 'Ma'. After birthed in vitro by her mother, Meta Salmhofer, Gretel and her brother were placed in laboratory tubes at the Levianta Royal Institute. Celebrated by the people of the Magic Kingdom, their births marked the first year of a new calendar, EC 0. Some time later, they were taken by their mother from the laboratory and hid in Elphegort.

After a year of being hidden by Meta, she carried them to Held's Forest for a stroll. While there, Meta settled them near a tree and left them. Soon after, she and Hänsel were discovered by Eve Moonlit. Afterward, the witch took the infants and carried them through the forest as she fled from their mother, prompting the twins to cry. After Eve killed Meta and showed the children to her husband, Adam, the two woodcutters adopted the newly orphaned babies and raised them as their own.

Abandoned
In EC 013, two lights descended upon the twins and fused with their bodies, making them incomplete copies of the twin gods. In EC 014, Gretel and her brother were led by their parents deep into the forest on a moonlit night. The curious twin asked her mother what fortune they would find on their path and wondered aloud if their destination would have lots of their favorite snacks to eat.

Eventually, Gretel and her brother realized that they would be lost if they continued on the path and were soon after abandoned by their parents to die. Seemingly betrayed, Gretel and her brother concluded their parents were actually a wicked witch and her henchman that had tricked them.

Filling the glass bottle her brother had with moonlight, the two used it to light their path as they wandered. At last, Gretel and Hänsel arrived back home, recognizing it as the "witch's house". With manic expressions, the twins decided to murder the witch, believing they would become happy if she was gone, and their shadows began spawning tendrils. Knocking at the door, Adam and Eve answered and, while they stared in horror, Hänsel and Gretel grabbed their fake parents with their shadows' spectral arms. Gretel then happily implored her "mother" to praise her for defeating the evil witch, laughing.

While Hänsel murdered the "henchman", Gretel shoved Eve into an oven. Watching the "witch" burn to ashes in the oven, they witnessed her body become the embodiment of her Original Sin. Using items located throughout the house, the two split it into seven fragments,  scattering the vessels of sin across the world so that it could be eventually cleansed. Gretel and her brother enjoyed the confines of the witch's house, sleeping in a chair there for the rest of night, and then decided to go out and search for their "real" mother and father.

Wicked Maid
Main Article: Arte

Following her death, Gretel and her brother reincarnated as the twins Arte and Pollo in the Beelzenian Empire during the turn of the fourth century EC. Losing their parents at a young age, the twins became servants to the Conchita Family and became obsessively loyal attendants to Banica Conchita. After finding and keeping the wine glass vessel of sin, the two presented it to their dying master in July of EC 323 as a means to save Banica from her eventual fate of overeating.

Once the Duke forged a contract with the Demon of Gluttony, the two supported "Evil Food Eater Conchita" as she began indulging in increasingly disgusting foods, killing any staff that opposed the fuedal lord on her orders. Banica later gave Arte command of her undead horde guarding the Conchita Mansion and the maid freely used the glass to control the dead soldiers for her master. Arte was later killed and devoured by Banica around August of EC 325.

Marlon Assassin
Main Article: Ney Futapie

"She isn't Ney. This child is Gretel. The girl otherwise should've been born with the name "Riliane". Because fate was distorted, she had a different appearance and decided to pursue a different life, the poor child."

- The Demon of Gluttony, Banica Conchita

In EC 482, Gretel reincarnated as Ney Marlon, the illegitimate daughter of Queen Prim Marlon of the Kingdom of Marlon and King Arth I of the Kingdom of Lucifenia. Discarded by her mother to hide her infidelity, Ney was raised and experimented on by Prim's court mage Abyss I.R.. Becoming obsessed with pleasing her mother, Ney infiltrated the Kingdom of Lucifenia as a spy and the "amnesic" child was adopted by Head Maid Mariam Futapie of the Three Heroes.

Hired as a maid at the royal palace, Ney worked to undermine the reign of Princess Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche. During the Lucifenian Revolution of EC 500, Ney killed her adoptive mother before returning to Queen Dowager Prim in Marlon. Made the commander of the Espionage Task Force, Ney assisted King Kyle in his Witch Hunt. Later given the Glass of Conchita by Abyss I.R., Ney took command of Retasan Fortress and revived undead hordes for Marlon's Beelzenian campaign in EC 505.

Forced to retreat, the assassin returned to her mother in Marlon and joined her at Castle Hedgehog while building up their undead forces in preparation for Kyle's retaliation against them. During the ensuing battle, Ney's sanity snapped and she killed Prim for ignoring her before wildly attacking Kyle and completley submitting to the Demon of Gluttony. After being subdued and captured, she was killed by Abyss I.R. at Lioness Castle.

Servant to the Glass
"Foolish child. You are to never be reborn. I have taken your soul from your body. I shall make you the foundation for the Master of the Graveyard."

- Banica to the ignorant "Ney"

Afterward, Gretel's soul was merged with the Glass of Conchita and her combined incarnations returned to serving Banica as the Demon of Gluttony. Over two weeks later, when Abyss I.R. attempted to use the Marlon Spoon against Riliane, "Ney" pulled her influence and the Demon of Gluttony's power was invoked to cancel out the Demon of Greed's magic, leading to the mage's defeat.

After the glass was discovered by Hänsel's reincarnation Lemy Abelard in his adopted mother's teasury around EC 610, "Ney" began telepathically communicating with the assassin. Following Lemy's death in winter of that year, Hänsel's soul was merged with the glass and the reunited twins continued their service to their demonic master.

Legacy
After her soul merged with the Demon of Gluttony, the sun god Sickle contemplated if Gretel's complete subservience to Banica was a result of being copies degrading with each reincarnation and had discarded their forgotten reason for existing in the first place. Centuries later, Nemesis Sudou began hearing the voices of Gretel and her twin, telling her repeatedly how she had been abandoned by her mother, Ma. Gretel's degraded will later manifested as the female servant of Evil's Theater, serving the Master of the Graveyard.

Ma wrote several screenplays involving Hänsel and Gretel and adapted them into films. While watching the films with an intruder to Evil's Theater, Ma questioned if the twins even existed, citing they seemed to be hidden so well by their parents that that there were no recorded documents of them in existence. While reflecting on the "motions" of the Master of the Court, Gammon Octo noted how Hänsel's reincarnation, Lemy Abelard, was uncharacteristically born without a Gretel counterpart. Gammon also wondered what became of the twins, questioning if they needed to ask the Master of the Hellish Yard to find an answer.

Personality and Traits
As a child, Gretel acted kind and innocent alongside her brother and appeared obedient to their parents. They weren't naive, however, and realized when the forest path the family took would inevitably get them lost. After being abandoned by her mother and father, Gretel became embittered by the event and concluded that Adam and Eve weren't their real parents at all, simply a witch and her henchman that had tricked them.

Gretel could also be extremely devious, murdering Eve with smile on her face, all while mocking her foster parent. Likewise, she and her brother became determined to find their real parents, despite not knowing who they might be. Gretel seemed to usually lean on her brother for support, letting Hänsel lead them along the path ahead of them and often holding his hand. The twin also had a particular affinity for tasty treats.

Skills and Abilities
After being fused with a fragment of Levia-Behemo, Gretel became an imperfect copy of one of the dragon gods. As a result, the young twin's shadow could come to life and manifest in dark, twisted forms, such as arms, hands, or other appendages, and be freely manipulated by her. Gretel also showed some other magical capabilities, splitting the Original Sin into seven pieces and scattering them across the world.

It also allowed Gretel to reincarnate every few centuries, her soul fated to be reborn in an identical body every few centuries, typically with her reincarnated brother as a twin. However, if either of the girl's fated parents had children with someone else before her intended birth, Gretel could instead incarnate as one of those children instead or not incarnate in that particular reincarnation cycle at all.

Character Connections
Meta Salmhofer: Gretel's real mother. Gretel didn't remember Meta, growing up in Eve's care, but she later expressed a wish to find her "real" mother after Adam and Eve were dead. She passed on a fanatic loyalty to Meta to most of her reincarnations, showing this loyalty to all her mother figures and people resembling her.

Eve Moonlit: Gretel's foster mother. Gretel grew up thinking of Eve as her mother, however, she became convinced she was a wicked witch after she and Hänsel were abandoned by her. Delighting in her accomplishment after killing Eve, Gretel later considered her to be a pretentious and troublesome woman, discovering her Original Sin among her ashes.

Adam Moonlit: Gretel's foster father. Gretel grew up thinking of Adam as her father, however she became convinced he was the wicked henchman of a witch after she and Hänsel were abandoned by him and delighted in bringing about his death. She gave him no more consideration after discovering Eve's Original Sin.

Hänsel: Gretel's twin brother. Gretel loved her brother and was always beside him if she could help it, taking comfort from holding his hand and helping him defeat the witch and henchman. She also acted as Hänsel's voice of reason, telling him the truth of what he heard and saw after their foster parents were dead. She stayed with him after Eve's death and would usually be by his side in their reincarnations.

Arte: One of Gretel's reincarnations. Gretel passed on her appearance and soul to Arte's, and with it she passed on her loyalty to anyone resembling Meta, such as Conchita.

Ney Futapie: One of Gretel's reincarnations. Gretel passed on her soul to Ney, and with it she passed on her loyalty to her mother figures, such as Prim.

Female Servant: A remnant of Gretel born from the Glass of Conchita. Made from residual traces of Gretel, the Servant shared her appearance and loyalty to anyone resembling Meta, such as the Master of the Graveyard.

Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche: One of Gretel's intended reincarnations. Due to the disturbance of fate caused by Abyss I.R. and Prim Marlon, Gretel instead reincarnated as Ney Futapie.

Conceptualization and Origin

 * Gretel is inspired by the character from the Brothers Grimm's tale "Hänsel &amp; Gretel".
 * In the original story, Gretel is depicted as a gluttonous child, strengthening her link with the Demon of Gluttony.
 * Gretel's name is derived from German, meaning "pearl" and is a diminutive of the name "Margaret".
 * Gretel's status as a Ghoul Child may be a reference to the sin of Gluttony and her reincarnation's service to Banica Conchita; ghouls are undead spirits or demons usually depicted as scavengers and human flesh eaters, often associated with graveyards and burial grounds.

Curiosities

 * Similar attire to Gretel is worn by a young Riliane and, to a lesser extent, the female Servant in Evil's Theater.
 * Gretel's reincarnations tend to be more malicious or bloodthirsty compared to her brother's reincarnations.
 * When plotting to kill her foster mother, Gretel's shadow manifested as a physical, shapeshifting entity around her.

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