History Characters / TheKindnessOfDevilsSupernaturalThreatsAndCriminals

* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:Gregory Haines, a willing asset to Siegfried's Pine Creek scheme, is visited by the mysterious "Mr. Z" and left to the whims of his sadistic partner Kasarian, [[CruelAndUnusualDeath for ten minutes]]...]]

* AdaptationalNiceGuy: Apophis starts off just as evil as his original mythological counterpart, but [[SoulEating eating souls]] gives him new emotions that [[CharacterDevelopment gradually makes him more sympathetic]] as the story goes on, [[spoiler:culminating in a tragic end where he feels remorse for his crimes and reconciles with his brother, Ra.]]

* {{Foil}}: Apophis serves as one to Nyarlathotep. Both of them are cunning and villainous chaos gods that are ''[[AncientEvil vastly old]]'', related to Egypt, have strained relationships with their family members, view Hardestadt as a WorthyOpponent, [[spoiler:and got [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] by Aleviel]], but those are the only traits the World Encircler and the Crawling Chaos have in common.
** Apophis starts off as a typical OmnicidalManiac like his [[Myth/EgyptianMythology original counterpart]], [[spoiler:but after developing new emotions like love and joy from eating souls, he becomes much more sympathetic and changes his goal to replacing the entire Afterlife with himself because he wants to preserve the Teraverse in awe of its beauty from his newfound emotions while feeding on souls to satisfy his nature as a primordial predator]]. Nyarlathotep on the other hand is just as, if not, more vile than [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos his original counterpart]], he stays evil throughout the entire saga, [[spoiler:and he's an actual OmnicidalManiac because he seeks to destroy all of reality, save for the few pieces he keeps so he can torture them for all eternity.]]
** Apophis is a true Egyptian deity, whereas Nyarlathotep only has superficial connections to Egypt.

** Lastly, Apophis [[spoiler:has [[AlasPoorVillain a tragic]] yet [[FaceDeathWithDignity dignifying death]] where he feels sorrow and remorse for the first time and reconciles with his estranged brother, Ra, who returns the affection by refusing to leave his side as [[TogetherInDeath the two embrace each other before they are taken away by oblivion]].]] Nyarlathotep, however, [[spoiler:dies a miserable and [[KarmicDeath well-deserving death]] where he gets EatenAlive by his apathetic father, Azathoth, whom he despises to the very end.]]

* {{Foil}}: Apophis serves as one to Nyarlathotep. Both of them are cunning and villainous chaos gods that are ''[[AncientEvil vastly old]]'', have strained relationships with their family members, view Hardestadt as a WorthyOpponent, [[spoiler:and got [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] by Aleviel]], but those are the only traits the World Encircler and the Crawling Chaos have in common.

** [[NoNonsenseNemesis Apophis]] holds no emotional attachment nor display any sadism towards his foes and goes straight for the kill. [[{{Sadist}} Nyarlathotep]] has a sadistic fix on his foes and toys with them before trying to kill them.
** Apophis [[VillainousRespect shows genuine honor]] towards his foes, like showing sincere respect for Hardestadt and [[spoiler:remembering Satannus' name after defeating her]]. Nyarlathotep's "respect" for his foes is one-sided at best because it comes from a place of sadism rather than genuine nobility.

** Lastly, Apophis [[spoiler:has [[AlasPoorVillain a tragic]] yet [[FaceDeathWithDignity dignifying death]] where he feels sorrow and remorse for the first time and reconciles with his estranged brother, Ra, who returns the affection by refusing to leave his side as the two embrace each other before they are taken away by oblivion.]] Nyarlathotep, however, [[spoiler:dies a miserable and [[KarmicDeath well-deserving death]] where he gets EatenAlive by his apathetic father, Azathoth, whom he despises to the very end.]]

* DraggedOffToHell: His final fate is [[spoiler: Being yanked into an infuriated Yig's cage, who has complaints to register about how Yamada treated him and other snakes.]]

* HeroKiller: Yamada is feared as a major force, is cripplingly effective against the heroes and even [[spoiler:kills Susanoo with ease when they duel again.]]

* {{Foil}}: Apophis serves as one to Nyarlathotep. Both of them are cunning and evil chaos gods that are ''[[AncientEvil vastly old]]'', viewed Hardestadt as a WorthyOpponent, [[spoiler:and got [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] by Aleviel]], but those are the only traits the World Encircler and the Crawling Chaos have in common.
** Apophis starts off as a typical OmnicidalManiac like his [[Myth/EgyptianMythology original mythological counterpart]], [[spoiler:but after developing new emotions like love and joy from eating souls, he changes his goal to replacing the entire Afterlife with himself because he wants to preserve the Teraverse in awe of its beauty from his newfound emotions while feeding on souls to satisfy his nature as a primordial predator]]. Nyarlathotep on the other hand stays evil throughout the entire saga, [[spoiler:and he's an actual OmnicidalManiac because he seeks to destroy all of reality, save for the few pieces he keeps so he can torture them for all eternity.]]

* GodOfChaos: He's the serpentine Egyptian god of chaos.

* {{Foil}}: To Nyarlathotep. Both of them are cunning and evil chaos gods that are ''[[AncientEvil vastly old]]'', viewed Hardestadt as a WorthyOpponent, [[spoiler:and got [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped]] by Aleviel]], but those are the only traits the World Encircler and the Crawling Chaos have in common.

The King of Serpents, the counterpart to Ra and the Egyptian embodiment of chaos. The main antagonist of ''Literature/AConspiracyOfSerpents''.

* AintTooProudToBeg: During his VillainousBreakdown, where he ''pleads'' to Hardestadt for mercy. He gets none.

* AintTooProudToBeg: He claims he won't beg for his life. [[spoiler: Turns out when death is right around the corner, he breaks and pleads to Hardestadt when the latter shuts off his life support.]]

* NotSoDifferent: He admits that his pursuit of justice is turning him dark and violent, just as Hardestadt's own once did.

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/TheUnquietGrave''

* WickedCultured: He makes an ''effort'' at this, but Hardestadt quickly points out the flaws (he only knows a few general quotes to give the impression he's well-read and when he drinks expensive wine, he holds the glass improperly and gulps most of it down in one go).

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Horribly, horribly averted. [[spoiler:The reveal of the Pijavica's molestation of her son Aleksander is portrayed as horrific, with Aleksander himself becoming a traumatized mute because of the whole ordeal.]]

!!Rich Jacobs

[[Lord Silas Ruthven]]

!!Lord Silas Ruthven

[[folder:Count Silas Ruthven]]
!!Count Silas Ruthven

* BigBad: The mysterious Count Silas Ruthven, the uncle of Carmilla Karnstein is the primary antagonist of the story.

** He is also indirectly responsible for Jack
* ShoutOut: Borrows his surname from ''Literature/TheVampyre'', and his first name, Silas, references ''Uncle Silas'', Le Fanu's previous novel.

!!Independent Antagonists

[[folder:Koschei the Deathless]]
!!Koschei the Deathless

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/GiveUsForever''

-->''"You may speak to me of redemption, of attempting to atone, but what you have not been is properly punished for your actions."''

One of Hardestadt's old allies back in the days before he became the Dragon, and one half of the BigBadDuumvirate in ''Shadow of the Dragon''.
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* AffablyEvil: Quite courteous to anyone not named Hardestadt, [[spoiler:and even then he eventually softens, especially when Alineia and Hardestadt meet for the first time]].
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:His end has him calmly accepting his end and entrusting Hardestadt with the future, even sharing a last few swigs of vodka with him before he crumbles to dust.]]
* AntiVillain: Koschei's merciless, but the only people he ever kills in the present day are a group of white supremacist vampires who [[AssholeVictim deserve it]] and he's quite cordial and principled otherwise.
* BigBadFriend: One of the main villains of ''Shadow of the Dragon'' and once Hardestadt's good friend.
* CoolUncle: [[spoiler:He's called "Uncle Koschei" by Alineia, and he seems as endlessly fond of her as she is of him]].
* EvilFormerFriend: Played with. He's become much darker, but this is because ''Hardestadt'' was his evil former friend who betrayed him.
* FaceHeelTurn: An interesting case in that the main protagonist's own FaceHeelTurn causes this; Hardestadt's since redeemed himself and vowed to atone for this, but Koschei decides Hardestadt hasn't been punished enough takes it upon himself to bring Hardestadt to his knees.
* FallenHero: Once a great hero in his own right, his fall was caused by Hardestadt's fall and betrayal of him. In present, he longs for the capacity for forgiveness, but he cannot forgive his former friend and resorts to brutal means to punish him.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Downplayed. Koschei's too ruthless to be called a hero anymore, but his moral compass was only tarnished instead of simply leaving: [[spoiler:the innocents he and Baba Yaga supposedly put in danger were never in harm's way, and while he's ruthless in testing Hardestadt's resolve it's all to prove his mettle to see if he's able to protect the Teraverse, and Koschei entrusts the future to him once again]].
* HealingFactor: He heals instantly from any wound there.
* HonoraryUncle: He's considered an uncle to [[spoiler:little Alineia Vasilisa Maria. It's implied the latter two names were his idea.]]
* HuskyRusskie: He's huge, wielding a two-handed sword with one hand easily, and he's a Russian folklore character.
* LastChanceToQuit: Mixed in somewhat with YouWillBeSpared: Koschei tells Hardestadt's allies they are free to walk away if they so choose as Hardestadt's old crimes do not make them targets. They refuse.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: He once gets impaled through the chest and simply treats it like a papercut. Of course, he ''is'' immortal.
* MasterSwordsman: He's almost as good as Hardestadt himself.
* NotSoDifferent: He admits that his pursuit of justice is turning him dark and violent, just as Hardestadt's own once did.
* OneHandedZweihander: He uses a gigantic sword and wields it one-handed. Bonus points as it actually is a Zweihander.
* OneLastSmoke: [[spoiler:Shares a drink of vodka with Hardestadt before he expires]].
* OurLichesAreDifferent: He's functionally mostly human, but freakishly big and strong, with his soul hidden inside a needle. He's invulnerable as long as it's intact.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Koschei is a believer in killing evildoers swiftly and brutally.
* PetTheDog: Quite literally. One sign that he hasn't become wholly monstrous in his quest for revenge is his mutual affection with Erin and Hardestadt's pet Cu Sith Nyx.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Koschei is immortal and at least a thousand years old.
* SelfDisposingVillain: [[spoiler:Koschei turns himself upon Hardestadt's own blade during their final fight, letting his own life fill the hole to keep Amatsu-Mikaboshi from breaking into Creation while also letting Hardestadt pass the test]].
* SoulJar: His soul is contained within a needle. If it's destroyed, he dies as well.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: He tells Hardestadt in no uncertain terms he finds his actions as the Dragon impossible to forgive.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He and Hardestadt were once dear friends, before the latter's monstrous FaceHeelTurn.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Koschei is exhausted with his immortal life, tired of living with nothing but hate and pain driving him.
* WouldHurtAChild: Seems ready to murder [[spoiler:Alineia]] at Baba Yaga's command. Of course, it's all just another one of her tests.

[[folder:Baba Yaga]]
!!Baba Yaga

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/GiveUsForever''

-->''"I have been known by many names, in many tongues. I was old when this world was fashioned, old when even the world was new. I was known by many names before the spoken word. Young Lucifer once knew me well. Even he was wary in my woods."''

An unfathomably ancient old woman and legendary Russian bogeyman, and one half of the BigBadDuumvirate in ''Shadow of the Dragon''.
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* AboveGoodAndEvil: Conventional notions of right and wrong mean very, very little for her. [[spoiler:She's ultimately on the heroes' side anyways, but she has her own unique style of doing things]].
* AffablyEvil: She's quite cheery and pleasant despite her ruthlessness.
* TheChessmaster: There is scarcely a single moment that does not go perfectly according to her plan.
* CoolOldLady: [[spoiler:To Alineia, whom she saved from death when she materialized outside the notice of even her mother Aleviel (supposedly). Baba Yaga, for all her aloof cruelty, ''adores'' her little Ali Vasya]].
* CrypticConversation: Everything she says has wheels within whels.
* EldritchAbomination: The little old woman she is is not an approximation of her true form. ''Whatever'' she is, she's ''ancient'' and a being that predates Creation itself.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Baba Yaga disdains hypocrisy and needless cruelty. [[spoiler:And she says if Hardestadt had truly chosen to kill his innocent little sister for the easy way out, she would have slain him on the spot.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Baba Yaga has people dancing to her tune without any effort.
* MiniatureSeniorCitizen: She's pretty tiny and takes the form of an old woman. Underestimate her at your peril.
* NeverMessWithGranny: She takes the form of a little old woman, but she's hands down one of the most powerful beings in the setting, and at no point is Hardestadt being able to defeat her even ''considered.''
* NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine: When Hardestadt is at her hut, she calmly serves him a bowl of stew to enjoy with Koschei and [[spoiler:Alineia.]]
* PetTheDog: She is a loving, caring grandmotherly figure to [[spoiler:Hardestadt's sister Alineia Vasilisa Maria, or 'Little Ali Vasya.']]
* SacredHospitality: She's a big believer in this, telling Erin to offer her a snack as proof she means no harm when under her roof.
* SadisticChoice: Cheeriness or not, she's ''very'' fond of invoking this in her various tests; suffer excruciating pain to save the lives of innocents, stand aside as others are forced to reckon with the danger themselves, and in the climax, [[spoiler:forcing Hardestadt to kill Alineia or watch as Koschei does it instead. Naturally, all of these are rigged; nobody except Hardestadt is ever in any genuine danger at any point]].
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Every trial she puts Hardestadt through is to gauge whether or not he's worthy of ''truly'' standing up to being the savior of the Teraverse when he's already fallen to darkness once. Baba Yaga veils this from Hardestadt himself, [[spoiler:and the fact none of these tests are actually putting anyone in harm's way]].
* SinkOrSwimMentor: She does intend to train the good guys, but she is not nice about it. Fail her tests, you go down. Period.
* StealthMentor: Much of what she does is designed [[spoiler:to help and challenge Hardestadt to be better.]]
* TimeAbyss: Baba Yaga is one of the oldest beings in the settings--Lucifer, who himself was around at the dawn of Creation, was a kid when she was already ancient.
* ToughLove: She's not without affection, but her methods are harsh.
* TrainingFromHell: She'll put people through utter nightmares to ensure they receive proper training.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Her methods are harsh, but she wishes to safeguard the Teraverse's existence.

[[folder:The Pijavica]]
!!The Pijavica

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/NoneTooHoly''

-->''"Majka's here."''
A wicked, murderous Eastern-European type of vampire targeting an orphanage in Maryland. The BigBad of ''Literature/NoneTooHoly''.
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* AchillesHeel: A Pijavica is incapable of feeding until it wipes out its family from mortality. [[spoiler:She intends to murder Aleksandar, her last living family, and then start stuffing herself.]]
* BackFromTheDead: Came back and turned into a pijavica upon her resurrection. [[spoiler:This is something that can happen to people who are evil enough, particularly through acts of incest. In her case raping her own son for years ended up with her becoming a Pijavica upon death.]]
* ChildEater: [[spoiler:Intends to murder Aleksander so that she can feast on all the children in the orphanage.]]
* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Horribly, horribly averted. [[spoiler:The reveal of the Pijavica's molestation of her son Aleksander is portrayed as horrific, with Aleksander himself becoming a traumatized mute because of the whole ordeal.]]
* EvilMatriarch: [[spoiler:Turns out she's this to Aleksandar, being her incestuous, vile mother who now wants to reclaim him and murder all his friends after she initially lost him.]]
* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler:Did this to the ''real'' Sister Viola, for the purpose of getting close to her son to take away the charm that prevented her from feeding.]]
* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler:Hardestadt kills her this way, lighting her up like a dry log and watching her burn until she stops moving.]]
* NunsAreSpooky: [[spoiler:Disguises herself as the goodhearted Sister Viola after murdering the real one.]]
* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:As an extension to KillItWithFire Hardestadt lops off her head and buries her with it placed between her legs as the sure way to prevent her from ''ever'' coming back.]]
* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler:Decides to help herself to Aleksandar "one more time" before trying to murder him as both punishment for revealing her and so she can finally start feeding.]]
* TilMurderDoUsPart: [[spoiler:When she was still a human, she ensured her husband hanged for her murder after he caught him raping her own son, albeit at the cost of her own death.]]
* VillainousIncest: [[spoiler:Did this to her own son, for the purpose of coming back as a pijavica. Every indication when she finds him again is to repeat this process before murdering him.]]
* WalkingSpoiler: The Pijavica's true identity and connection to Aleksandar in particular spoil the big twist of ''None Too Holy''.
* WhatTheHellAreYou: [[spoiler:Her last words when she's overpowered by a ''very'' pissed off Hardestadt, verbatim.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Molested her son Aleksander, and was not afraid to murder the kids at the orphanage.]]

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/UnderTheColdMoon''| ''Literature/TheWolvesOfWar'' | ''Literature/LeChevalier''

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/UnderTheColdMoon'' | ''Literature/TheWolvesOfWar'' (mentioned only) | ''Literature/LeChevalier'' (mentioned only)

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/UnderTheColdMoon'' | ''Literature/LeChevalier''

* BigBadDuumvirate: Technically one with his father Hargrove. Both are responsible for the snuff film ring in some way (Rich providing and carrying out the idea, with Hargrove providing the funds, location, and women).

* BigBadDuumvirate: Technically one with his son Rich. Both are responsible for the snuff film ring in some way (Rich providing and carrying out the idea, with Hargrove providing the funds, location, and women).

* GreaterScopeVillain: Hargrove provides and finances his son Jacobs' scheme, and helps to keep it covert with his money and connections, but is tangentially involved with the actual conflict.

* BackFromTheDead: Had supposedly died decades ago at the hands of Hardestadt and Grete, only to return some time later [[spoiler:thanks to making a pact with Ithaqua prior to his death.]]

* {{Ghostapo}}: ''Literature/TheWolvesOfWar'' reveals that he worked for the Nazis back in World War II. Not suprising given his SocialDarwinist beliefs.

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/UnderTheColdMoon'' | ''Literature/TheWolvesOfWar'' (mentioned only)

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/UnderTheColdMoon''

* TheStarscream: he wants to be this to Nyarlathotep, already plotting on a way to betray the Outer God. As Nyarlathotep is....Nyarlathotep, it never really gets past ineffective seething.

->'''Appears in''': ''Literature/UnderTheColdMoon''

* ChildEater: His preferred prey? Children.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:His end? Calmly accepting his end and entrusting Hardestadt with the future, even sharing a last few swigs of vodka with him before he crumbles to dust.]]

* BackFromTheDead: Came back and turned into a pijavica upon her resurrection. [[spoiler:This is something that can happen to people who are evil enough, particularly through acts of incest. In her case? Raping her own son for years ended up with her becoming a Pijavica upon death.]]

* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:As an extension to KillItWithFire? Hardestadt lops off her head and buries her with it placed between her legs as the sure way to prevent her from ''ever'' coming back.]]

!!!The Snuff Film Ring

!!!Pine Creek

!!!The Conspiracy of Serpents

!!!Count von Krolock and minions

!!!Krampus and minions

!!!Independent Antagonists