×× HKK7 ××

STATS (E2 lv90, 0% Trust, pot0)

HP: 3070 ATK: 1210 DEF: 420 RES: 15

Redeploy: None DP Cost: 36 Block: 2 ASPD: Slightly Slow

BASIC INFO

[Code Name] Red Wine [Gender] Male [Combat Experience] 10 Years (as of 1097) [Place of Birth] Kazdel Undisclosed [Date of Birth] Dec 26 Undisclosed [Race] Sarkaz [Height] 185cm [Infection Status] Infection confirmed by medical examination.

PHYSICAL EXAM

[Physical Strength] Outstanding [Mobility] Standard [Physical Resilience] Outstanding [Tactical Acumen] Excellent [Combat Skill] Excellent [Originium Arts Assimilation] Standard

PROFILE

Red Wine, formerly known as Rosso from a now-dissolved group called ‘Casa dei Segreti’, was eventually left to wander until he was found lying in the streets of Siracusa.

He is currently serving as a Guard at Rhodes Island, however due to the severity of his condition as well as various gaps in his records, it’s best to keep him under surveillance for now.

CLINICAL ANALYSIS:

Imaging tests have shown the outlines of his internal organs to be indistinct due to abnormal shadows. Originium granules have been detected in his circulatory system, confirming him to be infected with Oripathy.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 18% Originium crystals are visible on the surface of both wrists, confirming infection. Further examination suggests that the infection may also be starting to affect some of his mental faculties, though to what extent is still unknown.

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.41u/L Red Wine’s condition is prone to reaching a grave stage due to excessive Originium exposure, untrained Arts usage, and lack of immediate medication. While the subject’s receptiveness to treatment has greatly helped in keeping his infection under control in a more stabilized state, strict monitoring is still required as his infection may worsen at a faster rate if left unattended.

While not related to Oripathy, I’d also like to mention the patient’s eating habits—recent observations have shown that he is prone to binge-eating certain food items, which may adversely affect his health and treatment in the long run. But it seems that he himself is unaware of this… so I’ll be doing what I can to monitor his diet. –Hibiscus

ARCHIVE FILE 1:

Red Wine has been a lively addition to Rhodes Island. Ask almost any operator who’s met him only once, and you’ll get varied stories of him being quite the smooth talker. Ask the rest of them and it mostly starts the same, however they beg to differ on their second impressions: that beyond that front is a friendly, reliable operator with skills that make him worthy of being on the landship. Despite sometimes having… questionable ways of carrying out certain operations, success rates have been mostly good whenever Red Wine is in the squad—even if the medical staff is all but begging him to be more careful every time, to no avail.

For all that Red Wine seems like an open book, however, some operators have noted that sometimes it feels like he’s revealing everything and nothing about himself at the same time whenever they interact with him. The archiving staff agree with this as well—beyond coming from a mercenary group named ‘Casa dei Segreti’ in Siracusa, no one knows anything else about him.

After consulting with his closer associates, operators Perfumer and Hibiscus, the consensus is more or less the same: the best way to interact with him is to not overthink anything he tells you and to not read too much between the lines.

“Asking him directly about things won’t help either. He’ll say the same thing: that some things are better left unknown for the time being. In that regard, I’d suggest just treating him like you would any other regular operator.”—Perfumer

ARCHIVE FILE 2:

With his boss’ passing due to Oripathy, as well as her general frailty, Rosso dissolved the Casa dei Segreti in accordance to his boss’ last wishes. Everyone within the organization was left to roam free, with certain resources having been allocated to them to ensure survival, even if for a short time.

Rosso now had nowhere to go, and every enemy he’s made from being in the Casa dei Segreti now had all their eyes on him, making him spend most of his time on survival. His Oripathy had also started to manifest more external symptoms at this point in time.

A year later, an unconscious and heavily-wounded Rosso would eventually be found by some Rhodes Island staff—his body, sitting on the ground in a Siracusan alleyway, with a battered cane in one hand and an emptied-out gun in another. The staff immediately decided to take him in and called the main ship to make arrangements for a new patient.

⸻

After around 3 days of confinement, Rosso finally regained consciousness. Understandably, Rosso initially tried to leave the room, but he fell unconscious again due to a combination of exhaustion and sudden movements. Medical staff were able to have a proper conversation with him after he woke up a second time, and he was surprisingly receptive throughout his entire confinement.

Eventually, staff formally introduced him to the Doctor, and after a lengthy recovery accompanied with due process, ‘Rosso’ became ‘Red Wine’, and became officially recognized as a Rhodes Island operator.

ARCHIVE FILE 3:

[Classified Log] Here in Casa dei Segreti, you couldn’t find worse parent figures if you tried.

Red Wine, who was still a child at this point, was immediately thrust into a working environment after spending his first night in Siracusa. He did all sorts of jobs; from cleaning up after the superiors during their spars to assisting the other errand-people with basic chores. Despite their nagging, they allowed the child to keep his violin case—not out of care, but because they had better matters to attend to that didn’t involve taking something from a kid like they were playing tug-of-war. And like the other children there, the old men forbade him from consuming sweets; he was only allowed to eat a specific set of food.

“It’ll make you strong for the future,” they’d tell him, “things like candies and cakes are meant for children with lazy, worry-free lives, and that’s not what you’ll be getting over here.”

All these things, yet he was still unnamed. He’d heard whispers of kids being given new names as soon as they reached a certain point in living there, so he’d been waiting for his turn. It was only when he held a gun in his hand for the first time, that they finally gave him a name.

‘Rosso’. Red.

Like his eyes.

Like the stains that covered his entire person when they first found him.

Years of being trained under them gave Rosso polished skills in combat. Their boss also liked to drag Rosso with her during negotiations; they also discovered that this kid surprisingly had a knack for speaking and navigating through conversations seamlessly. This kind of life, of course, made him fully taint his hands with blood.

It wasn’t just blood. Their missions were quite varied, so it was only natural that some of them would involve getting exposed to certain amounts of Originium. Because of this, Rosso would eventually find himself contracting Oripathy—a trait that both he and his boss would now share.

ARCHIVE FILE 4:

[Classified Log] The following information took a painstaking amount of time and effort to obtain; while its contents are still quite lacking, it’s better than nothing. To ensure veracity, only authorized personnel are allowed to look over and make changes to this file.

This was how Red Wine met his mentors over at Siracusa.

They were many years younger back then. They were within Leithanien’s borders on an errand; and in the middle of it, they came across an abandoned mansion. Despite it being in a state of disrepair, those men still wanted to try their luck at finding anything valuable within that building. Upon entering its vicinity, they were greeted by a sight that’s very normal in their line of work—but in the midst of it was a child with stained clothes, holding what seemed to be a violin case.

“Kid. What’s your name?”

“…… ▮▮▮▮▮, sir.“

▮▮▮▮▮ continued staring up at them with curious eyes; eyes that were surprisingly devoid of fear. It was those eyes that made those men decide to take the child back with them, alive. After a few arrangements with their boss, ▮▮▮▮▮ was allowed to join the trip back to Siracusa.

As for that mansion, perhaps you can still find it somewhere along the streets of Leithanien. It was once the home of a lively family. But all that probably remains of it now are tattered curtains, broken furniture, and the faintest stench of something metallic. All other things that gave it life were no more; they were already stolen by fate in a story that’s best told for another day.

⸻

“…I suppose you’re going to leave that part out?”

As the Rhodes Island staff finished reading his notes, the corners of Red Wine’s lips curve upward.

“Some things are better off unknown for the time being~”

The staff chose not to push it once they noticed that his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

PROMOTION RECORD:

“Magdalena, are you there? Are you doing well?

Very good.

I’m in need of advice, if you could spare the time.

I know, I know… It must be tiring for you to listen to my constant drivel, but I hope you can hold on for just a bit longer.

Tell me… how does one rediscover their home?

How does one rediscover that which brings them safety and comfort?

Since that unforgettable scene, I’ve never felt that sense of being home again. Every place, every situation, every person I’ve come across…I could never truly let myself go with them.

When will I feel safe once more? And if I ever get close, is my destructive presence even allowed to claim such an indulgence?

And in that case, should I even bother with finding a home if all I’ll do is ruin them by way of simply existing?

This is embarrassing for me to say, but… I’m scared.

All signs point to me being meant for eternal solitude, but I’m trying so hard to believe otherwise.

To believe that everyone deserves something they can call ‘home’.

And that ‘everyone’ includes even doomed individuals like me.

…

Right now… this place doesn’t seem so bad.

I’ve met a lot of people here. And I’ve been blessed enough to meet…him.

Everyone here has mostly been wonderful. It almost feels too good to be true.

……

Please allow me to grasp this growing sense of belonging.

Please let this be my home.

Please… allow me to deserve a home.

He first appeared in concept pv 4 (timestamped) and his official debut was in Entelala's event!! (4th story, Canoes off the Riverside)

What we know about him so far:

a mixed Sarkaz merc; whether it's Sarkaz/Sarkaz or Sarkaz/non-Sarkaz is unknown, but highly likely the former. Ppl are guessing he might be a vampire/nachzehrer mix, but it's all up in the air for now

has an older sister—unknown if by blood or not—that he's looking for/trying to save (EN translates it as 'sister' but CN text has him specifically use 'jiejie')

said older sister worked for Rose Riverside (Milton also helped her deliver messages) and went thru a process to become a pureblood Vampire Sarkaz—a process that's apparently so risky/gruesome that it's almost comparable to a past incident where Entelechia had to use her blood Arts

possibly named after John Milton (kinda supported by This art by his illustrator Yiqian, w/c just straight up mentions Paradise Lost in title)

possibly has Beelzebub references (the fly motifs)