Characters
DAIJUUJI KUROU
The hero of our story, Daijuuji Kurou is down on his luck. Unable to handle the pressures of life at Miskatonic University, he dropped out to start his own private detective business; life as an investigator treats him little better than his student days however, and he's forced to rely on the local orphanage for support between his infrequent cases.
All that changes when he is approached by Hadou Ruri, Arkham City's self-appointed protector and heir to the powerful Hadou Group. She requires a book - a grimoire of black magic that only Kurou can uncover, and she's prepared to pay almost anything for him to retrieve it.
Plunged back into the world of the occult that he swore to leave behind, Kurou embarks on an adventure that puts him face to face with wonders and terrors greater than even his darkest dreams could have imagined.
LEICA
A nun who runs a church and orphanage in a quiet corner of Arkham City. She's taken it upon herself to provide for the livelihood of Kurou while he pursues his down and out detective business, and she lectures him daily regarding his inability to provide for himself. Despite her sharp tongue she is well meaning, kind and helpful.
While she's equally kind to all of the wayward charges she's taken under her wing, it seems that she may hold feelings for Kurou that go beyond sisterly responsability. Will you choose to entrust yourself to her kind, capable hands?
HADOU RURI
The protector of Arkham City and its ruler from the shadows, the girl leader of the Hadou plutocracy. Her grandfather and founder of the Hadou industrial dynasty instructed her directly in how to be a good leader, and she matured into a young woman of both intelligence and beauty. The tremendous power she wields, coupled with the crushing responsibility, has caused this youthful girl to be tempered into a maiden of iron.
Chief among her concerns are the actions of the Black Lodge Syndicate, a secretive organization responsible for sowing seeds of unrest in the city that Ruri and her family have worked so hard to build. To counteract their rising influence, the Hadou group plans to deploy Demonbane - one of the greatest Deus Machina to ever be built. For Demonbane to function it requires a catalyst that only one attuned to the occult can unearth...
Having employed Kurou to hunt down the mysterious Grimoire that will power Demonbane, Ruri can't seem to rid herself of the hapless detective. As their fates entertwine, will she finally discover a tender emotion buried deep inside?
AL AZIF
Known by many names and forms through the centuries, Al Azif's girlish appearance is deceptive: she is the avatar of a grimoire, and not just any tome of spells. She embodies the original Necronomicon itself, an icon of forbidden magic eagerly pursued by ambitious sorcerers eager to amplify their powers.
In the modern age, Al has developed a mind of her own. Fiercely independent and outspoken, she is fearless in thought and deed, but knows when to run away from those who would use her for unpleasant ends... unless her escape is blocked by a certain bumbling detective.
Unknowingly finding what he seeks, Kurou joins Al in flight from the agents of the sinister Black Lodge. Will their alliance become a spark of hope in resistance to the evil that lays in wait?
MASTER THERION
Leader of the Black Lodge society for the dark arts. With ravishing good looks and a powerful, charismatic personality, he is the true image of a charming demon. To light a fire in those languid, listless eyes, causing acts of evil and cruelty are his only delight.
His organization is one of the few openly claiming a connection to ancient, forbidden magic, and the power he wields is indeed fearsome - a power that has led to ennui and nihilism so extreme that he would rather toy with an amusing opponent than crush him utterly.
When Kurou appears on the scene together with Al, Master Therion finds relief from the boredom that has engulfed him for ages...
ETHELDREDA
A mysterious girl who attends by the side of Black Lodge leader Master Therion as if she is his very shadow. The devotion she shows him is unwavering, an obedience that could be deemed fanatical. Unlike Al Azif she remains calm, quiet and composed in all circumstances.
With such a close relationship to her master, Etheldreda could only be the physical embodiment of the grimoire that allows Master Therion to power his own Deus Machina...
NYA
The woman proprietor of a rare bookshop who helps Kurou in his detective work. She has a bewitching aura and an alluring physical presence about her, but the depth of the mysteries swirling around her is a closely guarded secret - there's a certain something about her that no one has been able to discover...
All that is clear is that she's an actor with her own part to play in the cosmic scheme of gods, monsters and mecha using Al and Kurou for their own ends. Rely on her advice at your peril as you guide Kurou through his adventures.
DR. WEST
A mad scientist in the employ of the Black Lodge syndicate. Arkham City is plagued by disturbances created when his bizarre inventions run amok, and the destruction created by his robotic minions is the drumbeat of anarchy by which Arkham now sets its clocks.
His aesthetic sense is incomprehensibly alien to others, and notions of good and evil are sacrificed in pursuit of the boundaries of his whimsy. Put simply: he's the comic relief. But don't take his inventions lightly, or the adventures of Kurou and Al will come to a quick and unfortunate end.
DEMONBANE
Demonbane is the first among peers in the Deus Machina class of robots, created to interface the powers of Magius, modern-day sorcerers, with those of the grimoires: ancient artifacts of black magic so powerful that they can embody as avatars to physically accompany their magius masters into battle.
Demonbane's creation is shrouded in mystery. The Hadou Group claims some connection, but other whispered tales tell of a broken god fallen from the heavens, crashing to earth and swallowed up in darkness.
It is in darkness where the machine still dwells, awaiting the master that will command it, and the grimoire that will empower its blazing destiny once again...