Characters / Monark Pactbearers

Monark Main Character Index
True Student Council | Pactbearers

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Pactbearers

The main antagonists of the game. Each has formed a pact with the Monarks presiding over the Seven Deadly Sins, and is partially responsible for the ongoing anomalies occurring within the school. Defeating them and destroying their Ideals, i.e. the symbols and Desires that make up their contract with their Monark, is the goal of the True Student Council.

For the Pactbearers of Vanity, Sloth, and Gluttony, see their pages in the True Student Council.

In General

• The Bad Guy Wins: The Pactbearers of Lust and Wrath succeed in getting their revenge against the people who've wronged them despite the TSC's best attempts. Unfortunately, even that isn't enough to satisfy them and they go for the homicidal approach, leading the True Student Council to stop them before they kill everyone in the school.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Zigzagged. There are five of them in all, but with the exception of the Tono twins, each member acts independently and don't appear to be aware of each other's existence.
• Brought Down to Normal: After the end of Act 1's Intermission and Kakeru's turning back time to a few days go, the destruction of their Ideals and breaking their Pacts with their Monarks has rendered them basically harmless and mostly back to normal, save severe memory loss relating to their Egos. To be specific:
  • Kurama is no longer a megalomaniac though he still is somewhat egotistical in that he wants to solve the mystery of the barrier and the Mist himself.
  • Hayate is back to being a gentle, selfless old man, distraught at being helpless in a crisis but still ultimately thinking of the well-being of his students.
  • Without the power to murder as he pleases and the supernatural amplification of his psychotic streak, Subaru becomes just a young boy who's nice but shy and scared, without memories of all the vicious bullying.
  • The Tono Twins have the largest change, with Sumire no longer being in love with Haruka and breaking up amicably with him while also forgetting Akane even existed and Akane desperately tries to reconnect with her sister, possibly without the incest this time.
• Deal with the Devil: The nature of a Pact with a Monark. You gain supernatural powers via their Authority, they get to manifest and wreak havoc on the human plane, and you only have to defend the Ideal crystals that act as the Monark's anchors in this reality and make sure that your Ego remains strong.
• Dysfunction Junction: None of these people are psychologically well and emotionally healthy, which is probably why they thought of making a Deal with the Devil in the first place.
• Freudian Excuse: Barring the Pactbearer of Envy, the other four all have good reason to make pacts with the Monarks. Kurama wants to bring order and peace to the student body, even if he has to brainwash everyone to do it. Subaru wants revenge against his bullies and tortures them viciously (though he also targets the other first-year students for the slightest of reasons). The Tono twins want to kill Haruka for toying with their feelings, but like Subaru they target people unrelated to their problems for simply being associated with Haruka. The Pactbearer of Greed just wants to see his younger brother again.
• Karma Houdini: After the events of Recurring Twilight and time looping back a few days, none of the Pactbearers get any sort of punishment for their crimes as they never happened and the Ideals having been shattered means they're free from the corrupting influences of their Monarks.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: After the Pactbearers come to in the infirmary and Kakeru reverses time to just after the barrier went up, they lose most of their memories relating to their Egos and what they did as Pactbearers. Sometimes it's small, like Hayate going back to a caring and humble teacher without memory of his purposefully inflicting his suffering on his students or Kurama not remembering why he's wearing the Student Council President's Ceremonial Robes, others are huge, like Sumire forgetting Akane even existed and Akane desperately trying to bond with her.
• Power at a Price: Not for the Pactbearer, but for the world around them. Every use of Authority causes a part of the world to be filled with distortion and Mist, and said Mist will grow thicker and expand with each usage. The sole exception is the Vice-President, though this is due to him being a Monark.
• Token Good Teammate: Only three of their number aren't using their powers for selfish reasons, or at the very least want to bring an end to the anomalies and bring down the Barrier surrounding the school. Even the Pactbearer of Greed joins the heroes, albeit after his death.

Kurama Hitotsubashi, Pactbearer of Pride

Kurama Hitotsubashi

Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki

Pactbearer of Pride

"I act on everyone else's behalf. I have the power to protect them. Who but me is suited to be student council president?"

A third-year student who took over the Student Council and subsequently deposed Hinata after taking office. Stern and exacting, he is dedicated to ensuring the safety of the student body and has isolated them from other facilities so as to not be exposed to the Mist.

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• Ambiguously Evil: Although he seems to be responsible for the Mist in the first area of the game, Kurama notes how whenever they destroy one of his Ideals, the Mist seems to recede, implying Kurama might not be aware of his connection to it. Regardless, the TSC resolves to defeat him since he's insistent on standing in their way and destroying his Ideals is dispersing the Mist.
• Anti-Villain: Although he's a Pactbearer and therefore one of those responsible for the ongoing anomalies in the school, Kurama has genuinely good intentions and only wants to ensure the students are safe. The problem, however, is that his idea of keeping order is to brainwash the teachers and the student body.
• Arc Villain: The villain of the first chapter of the game and of Nozomi's story arc. He's also the first Pactbearer the TSC has to deal with before they can even access the other buildings where the other Pactbearers reside.
• Berserk Button: Do NOT interrupt Kurama. He gets very irritated when someone interferes when he's talking to someone.
• Black-and-White Insanity: He's actually very calculated and only loses his temper when presented with what he perceives to be incompetence and insubordination, so he's not totally crazy. Unfortunately, he believes that he's the only one capable of bringing forth justice of any kind, even if he has to brainwash the other students to keep the peace while the school's in total chaos. He also refuses to believe Nozomi or the protagonist have good intentions and instead will only cause unneeded trouble.
• Brainwashing for the Greater Good: To ensure that order is kept, Kurama uses his Authority to make any weak-willed student under his thrall. He's shocked when he discovers his Authority has little to no effect on the protagonist, who is a fellow Pactbearer.
• Custom Uniform: Downplayed. Chiyo notes how his uniform is considerably different from the traditional Shin Mikado attire. Hinata explains it's a special uniform meant to be worn by the Student Council President during ceremonies, believing him to have taken it after finding the uniform in a closet.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: His Authority allows him to brainwash and control anyone he wants, and those who fall under his Authority act like mindless zombies who obey and praise his name. You'd be forgiven for thinking he's not running a Student Council, but an actual cult. Even one of the students compares the Student Council under his leadership to one when his girlfriend suddenly breaks up with him and joins the Student Council despite having had zero interest in them before.
• Evil Counterpart:
  • To the protagonist. Both are Pactbearers presiding over the deadly sin of pride, though whereas Hitotsubashi wields the more well-known sin, the protagonist's Authority of Vanity, or "vainglory", is a contemporary of pride. Hitotsubashi uses his power to bring peace to the frenzies and confused student body, albeit by brainwashing them to be totally subservient to him. The protagonist became a Pactbearer to protect Chiyo and uses his newfound Authority to defeat the other Pactbearers.
  • To Nozomi Hinata. Nozomi's character arc revolves around her coming to understand and accept her own flaws, specifically how she'll never be able to appease everyone and there'll be at least one person who disagrees with her. Hitotsubashi, on the other hand, considers himself the perfect and ideal candidate to lead the student council and has the best interest of the student body, even if he has to brainwash them into following him. The idea that someone would disagree with him or accept being flawed is unacceptable to him, and Nozomi saying as much has him go flying off the handle.
• Freudian Excuse: His third and final Ideal reveals his motivations for enforcing his will upon the student body and becoming a Pactbearer. At some point in the past, he watched his friend run into the street when the light was red and died. A woman heavily implied to be his friend's mother claims he murdered him, a sentiment he agrees with since he didn't do anything to stop him.
• Healing Factor: His Authority explicitly gives him power over "human bodies", so aside from controlling minds, he can also heal himself from grievous injuries like getting stabbed with a knife, by a vengeful boyfriend after Kurama brainwashed his girlfriend.
• Humans Are Morons: His Ideals have him paint this picture on his fellow man. Specifically, he's annoyed and irritated how people always seem to choose the actions that are most likely to lead to chaos or get themselves hurt while paying no heed to another's advice. His motivation for becoming a Pactbearer is to force people under his control so they won't make such actions, if only for their own good.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While he's not the most pleasant of people, Kurama does point out to Nozomi that she risked both the only doctor in the building and a middle school student with health complications by going out into the Mist, which is known to have adverse effects on anyone who enters it.
• Light Is Not Good: Hitotsubashi wears the glaringly white ceremonial uniform meant for the Student Council President, and while he is working to protect the students, he is far from the most pleasant individual. Nozomi even points out that even before all the chaos that went down the students didn't like him for his strict attitude. Even the teachers didn't want to associate with him. He's also one of the Pactbearers responsible for the ongoing anomalies.
• My Greatest Failure: He considers his inability to save his friend this, feeling as though he could have prevented his death if he stopped him from running out into the street. This is what also motivated him into becoming a Pactbearer so he wouldn't repeat such a mistake ever again.
• Pride: His Authority. He's capable of subjugating anyone of weak will, which is how he's garnered so much support from the student body and the teachers.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Anyone who falls under his Authority develops a tint of red in their sclera.
• Starter Villain: He's the first Pactbearer the True Student Council encounters, and defeating him is necessary to reach the others.
• Torture Technician: Not him, but his Monark, Superbia. Her weapon of choice is a steel plier with spikes, and when it's her turn to act...
  Superbia: Let the torture begin.
• Villainous Breakdown: When Nozomi and the protagonist confront him and reject his ideals, specifically his enforcing his will upon the students and Nozomi herself accepting her flaws, Hitotsubashi goes flying off in a rage and considers Nozomi's acceptance of her flaws to be foolish.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He formed a Pact with a Monark to bring order to the panicking student body when things started going downhill after Shin Mikado was suddenly cut off from the outside world and a genuine sense of altruism, even if it is misguided.
• What the Hell Are You?: In order to get Nozomi to stand down, Hitotsubashi uses his Authority to subjugate the protagonist. When he resists, he's in complete shock and asks what he is before he realizes the protagonist is a Pactbearer and therefore immune.

Hayate Tsumabuki, Pactbearer of Envy

Hayate Tsumabuki

Voiced by: Ryūsei Nakao

Pactbearer of Envy

"At the very least, I will pray for your sins to be forgiven, and for you to remain safe within this accursed academy."

An instructor at Shin Mikado Academy whom many students admire for his gentle, compassionate demeanor. He served as the dean of a different academy for many years, and received an award from the national government for his work as a prominent educator. As an old friend of Ryotaro's late grandfather, he often frets over the boy's recent behavior.

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• Bald of Evil: He's bald and is one of the Pactbearers the TSC needs to deal with to return Shin Mikado to normal. It gets even worse when you discover the mysterious, seemingly psychosomatic, agonizing pain the students are experiencing is him trying to shove off the pain of his aging, diseased body on the young students.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He acts as a kind and caring elderly man and is on good terms with Ryotaro, the grandson of his friend. It's all a guise to hide his actual self: a petty and entitled old codger who uses his Authority to pass the pain of his sickly, aging body onto the students. That said, Hayate without his pact with Invidia drops the "bitch" part and he's a genuinely kind person otherwise.
• Black Eyes of Crazy: His eyes are closed shut most of the time, but when he opens them, they're revealed to be pitch black.
• Broken Pedestal: While Ryotaro doesn't treat him kindly during the crisis, he does mention how his grandfather talked about Hayate fondly. Confronting and learning that Hayate is the Pactbearer of Envy disappoints Ryotaro greatly.
• Cool Old Guy: He's popular among the students and was awarded by the government for his work at a previous academy.
• Deus Exit Machina: Right when Ryotaro and the Vice-President have him cornered, Hayate manages to escape thanks to his Monark calling him from the Otherworld.
• Entitled Bastard: From Hayate's point of view, his lifestyle as a "giver" was taken advantage of people who saw him only as a mere convenience and was awarded nothing for his efforts except pain and misery, becoming vengeful and envious of those who led more fulfilling, healthy lives. Unsurprisingly, such feelings are exactly what drove him to meet Invidia, the Monark of Envy.
• Evil Is Petty: His reason for becoming a Pactbearer and using his Authority on his students? He couldn't stand the idea that they weren't suffering like he was after he lost everything and wanted them to experience the pain and suffering he feels every day.
• Evil Old Folks: By far the oldest Pactbearer among their number, and just as dangerous. The strange bouts of pain the students suffer from out of the blue is him shoving the pain of his old and weak body off to them through his Authority.
• Faux Affably Evil: He acts kind and scholarly, and frets over the students who are suffering from mysterious bouts of pain. He's also responsible for said bouts of pain, believing the students should feel the pain he's suffered through in recent years.
• Foreshadowing: When the Vice-President and Ryotaro confront him in the Otherworld and the former questions him about Yoru, Hayate confirms he met her and she told him how to make a pact like the other Monarks, though he doubts whether she's actually human given her knowledge of the Otherworld in the first place. He turns out to be bang on the money, too.
• High-Class Glass: He has a gold-rimmed monocle and was closely associated with Ryotaro's grandfather, who was the very rich and powerful founder of a business conglomerate.
• Sinister Scythe: His Monark Invidia wields one.
• Start of Darkness: As mentioned by Ryotaro and the students, Hayate was every bit the philanthropist the former's grandfather was also. His workaholic tendencies, losing his position as the dean of another school, and being diagnosed with a painful disease on top of his family leaving him drove him to making a pact with the Monark Invidia.
• Throwing Off the Disability: Implied. Although his illness was bad enough to cause debilitating pain to the point that the students taking on part of it are reduced to unconcsiousness, once his ideals are shattered he seems to be completely fine. A line during the second half of the game has him even show surprise at finding medicine in his bag, implying that he isn't taking any and is not experiencing pain. Since his formative experience was getting the illness in the first place it's possible that he doesn't just suffer from Laser-Guided Amnesia like the other pactbearers but that the illness has been completely wiped from existence by the way of Divine Intervention.
• Took a Level in Cynic: He was once an incredibly selfless man, pouring himself into his work as a dean for a different school, and striving to embody the ideals of his friend, Ryotaro's grandfather. After losing his prestigious position, getting diagnosed with some crippling, agonizing disease, and having alienated his family from being a workaholic and being cut off from his previous social circles, Hayate learns that all of his selfless and generous acts have led to him suffering in loneliness. From being a caring teacher he now selfishly inflicts his pain and suffering onto his students, believing they "deserve" to suffer more than a "paragon" like him.
• Villain with Good Publicity: As mentioned above, Hayate is a Cool Old Guy who is popular among the students for his caring attitude, especially in the current crisis where the school is cut off from the outside world. He's also a Pactbearer contributing to the ongoing chaos in Shin Mikado and is responsible for the mysterious disease spreading in the second year building. Ryotaro event notes how concerned the second year students are after his defeat, noting Hayate [wasn't as despised or alone as he thought.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: In his drive to live the life of a "giver" like his much-admired friend, Ryotaro's grandfather Taro Date, he ended up pouring himself into work and alienating his family. When he lost the position of dean and was diagnosed with some mysterious illness, he found no one to comfort him now that his prestige, power, and family had all left him.

Subaru Ikariya, Pactbearer of Wrath

Subaru Ikariya

Voiced by: Atsushi Tamaru

Pactbearer of Wrath

"You wouldn't want to piss me off! I'M the one behind these anomalies!"

An unsettling first-year high school student at Shin Mikado Academy. He has a fascination with the occult, and reads about the dark arts by himself in the library each and every day. The teachers consider him suspicious, and his attitude often gets him into fights. He has recently been threatening students by claiming he caused the anomalies plaguing the academy.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: To Kokoro. His feelings for her come from the fact that, while she never did anything to stop the bullying, she also didn't pity or look down on him and was otherwise indifferent to what was going on. What he failed to understand was that Kokoro didn't intervene because she was indifferent, but because she wasn't sure what she could do or how to interact with him. For his part, Subaru doesn't care if he rejects her and is content with informing her of his feelings. As soon as he does, Kokoro doesn't waste any time launching into a massive, brutal rejection in the form of a "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
• Ambiguous Situation: How Subaru was able to cause so much havoc in the first-year building without even being conscious is a great mystery to everyone, though given that the Authority of Wrath allows the user to manipulate all manner of electricity, it's possible Subaru was disconnected from his body after being shoved out the window and was instead jumping back and forth between being in the Otherworld and taking possession of his victims.
• Asshole Victim: While he's definitely too far gone, not all of his victims are worth shedding tears over. Some took part in a vicious bullying campaign against him and are more or less what drove him to making a pact with the Monark Ira. One of the first-year students even says that, while he can't forgive Subaru for what he's doing, he does understand where he's coming from and flat-out says the bullies had it coming.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: He hates every first-year, even those who had nothing to do with the bullying. The only one he doesn't hate is Kokoro, who never treated him any differently from the others. As such, she's the only person who's allowed to come and go out of the first-year building without fear of death.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Played with. He genuinely thinks he's responsible for everything that's happening in Shin Mikado because the Mist and the Barrier all appeared at the exact same time he became a Pactbearer. All because Yoru told him he was and told him nothing about the existence of his fellow Pactbearers.
• Bow and Sword in Accord: His Imagigear has him wielding a crossbow and a knife, alongside the lightning-based powers of his Authority.
• Dark Is Evil: He wears a slight modified version of his uniform with a jacket and hood, and he's easily the most vicious of the enemy Pactbearers.
• Demonic Possession: Through unknown means, Subaru can hijack a person's body. Unlike with Kurama, who's Authority dominates a person's mind and turns them into a mindless thrall, Subaru has full and total control, basically turning that person into his puppet. And they're aware of every second of it.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: As much as he hates being viciously bullied on a daily basis, he hates being pitied for it even worse. Depressingly, when someone did try to go to a teacher to report it as is always recommended, Subaru ended up rejecting the accusation because, in his mind, someone thought he wasn't strong enough to stand up for himself.
• Driven to Suicide: Subverted. The students claim that his bullies locked him in a classroom on the third floor and he jumped out the window. They're lying. Hidefumi, one of the bullies actually cornered him in the classroom and shoved him out the window.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Sharp-eyed players will notice that there's already a student in one of the beds in the infirmary. Look closely at the hair and you'll realize it's Subaru in a coma.
• Esoteric Motifs: Pentagrams and eyes, both common symbols of the occult and black magic. It's notable that most of the designs on his clothes are handpainted and stitched, presumably by him.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The worst part of all the vicious bullying he faced was how his mother would cry upon seeing the aftermath, blaming herself because their family is poor. Subaru wanted nothing more than the power to protect himself and by extension, the ones he loved most.
• Foil: To Kokoro. He desires nothing more than lashing out and taking bloody vengeance against all the people who have wronged him, she desires nothing more than to hurt no one and be hurt by no one. Before the events of the game, he was constantly bullied by pretty much everyone while Kokoro kept to herself, avoiding interaction by choice or due to her inability to.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: A severe bullying victim from a poor upbringing, to taking the entire 1st Year Building hostage and murdering countless of his classmates and bullies for everything from vengeance to minor infractions.
• Hidden Depths: Despite what his demeanor and interest in the occult might suggest, his profile states he has very good grades. He's also a member of the Go-Home Club^note It's not an official club, but a derogatory term for people who aren't part of a club or engage in club activities and go straight home.
• I Just Want to Be Special: Part of the reason why he's so insistent that he's the reason behind the anomalies is that he thinks he was chosen to become a Pactbearer, although it should be noted that Yoru never told him the full story and gave him the bare minimum of information, no doubt playing on his desires and fears so as to manipulate him better.
• Important Haircut: When the barrier finally goes down, Subaru says that the first thing he's doing when he leaves the gates is get a haircut, removing his bangs.
• In the Hood: When he wears his jacket, his eyes and most of his face are hidden by his jacket's hood.
• Leitmotif: "Pleiades". Alternating between calm disdain, beautiful but mournful singing, and intense rap, the lyrics represent Subaru's struggling in the face of a cruel, irrational world, and how he's going to destroy it all after all the injustice that's happened to him.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Enforced by Yoru during their meeting. Unlike the other Pactbearers, Yoru left out certain details such as what the Otherworld, its inhabitants, and what Ideals really are and refers to both as the Daemon World and Pact Gems respectively. She even went so far as to claim he was responsible for the ongoing anomalies at their school, likely to make him cause chaos and put more stress on Sora before inevitably pitting him against the Vice-President.
• Meaningful Appearance: His hair is incredibly messy and overgrown, his bangs hiding his eyes and generally giving him a suspicious, up-to-no-good look. He decides to have them cut during "Deepest Depths" after his pact with Ira is broken and reverted to his original personality, signifying he's going to try and be more outgoing and friendly.
• Never Found the Body: After his suicide, one of the students went to check his body, only to find that it was somehow gone. The first hint that he's not actually dead and is actually in a coma.
• Never Trust a Trailer: Promotional materials and various trailers all had Subaru portrayed as the Big Bad and the one responsible for causing the anomalies going on within the school. In truth, he's merely one of the people responsible for the anomalies and can be dealt with fairly early on, and it's revealed he honestly believed he was the one behind the appearance of the Barrier and the Mist because the one who told him how to become a Pactbearer told him he was. Furthermore, he's shown to have genuine motives rather than being the stereotypical chaotic madman the trailers implied he was, becoming a Pactbearer so he could get revenge on his bullies.
• Not Good with Rejection: Zigzagged. It wasn't Kokoro's rejection that set him off—it's that what she said goes against his image of Kokoro, who was otherwise indifferent to the world and those around her.
• Not Quite Dead: When he began taking credit for the ongoing anomalies and the Mist enveloping the school and attacking the other students, some of his bullies locked him in a room on the third floor and he committed suicide by jumping out the window. He's not actually dead and is still alive, albeit in a coma in the nurse's office.
• Shock and Awe: His Authority allows him access to lightning-based attacks.
• Pet the Dog: A minor one, but Kokoro claims Subaru won't attack the protagonist since he wasn't involved in the bullying. Subaru also shows no hostility to him, either, even promising to lay off since his beef is with his classmates. He only attacks him and Kokoro when they try to stop him from killing Yasunori.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Wrath. There really is no better sin suited for him, as he takes revenge on the people who viciously bullied and demeaned him since he enrolled at the school.
• Token Evil Teammate:
  • Zigzagged in that the Pactbearers are not allies in any sense, nor is there any indication that they're working together or aware of each other's existence. Barring the Pactbearer of Envy, who is the pettiest of the lot, all the others have genuine good motives (albeit severely screwed up in the head as is the case with the Pactbearer of Lust). While also somewhat justified in his retribution, Subaru has killed students uninvolved in the bullying for even the smallest of reasons, including killing anyone who tries to leave the first-year building.
  • He's also this to the previous Pactbearers. In the Cromwell Archives studying the previous cases of Ira's Pactbearers, the three mentioned in the note either couldn't handle the Authority and got themselves killed by accident, were unable to control their Authority, or used it to allow them better motor control and abandon their wheelchair.

The Tono Twins, Akane and Sumire, Pactbearer of Lust

Akane and Sumire Tono

Both Voiced by: Mikoi Sasaki

Pactbearer/s of Lust^note Akane (Left), Sumire (Right)

Akane: "Every chance comes once in a lifetime! You could call it destiny."
Sumire: "I can't believe we've never met. You're just my type, too... Hah. As if."

Second-year high school students at Shin Mikado Academy, Akane is the older and Sumire is the younger. As identical, attractive twins, the two of them use their beauty to attract boys but for vastly different reasons: Akane wants to find a committed relationship, Sumire is a serial heartbreaker. For this reason, they're known as the "White Swan" and "Black Swan" of the academy^note In the English version, Akane and Sumire are called the "Odette" and "Odile" respectively.

Akane has a pure, innocent air about her, and can be a bit absent-minded, often getting lost in her nigh-delusional fantasies about love and life. Not long ago, she managed to get her long-awaited first boyfriend.

Sumire enjoys toying with men, the target of her affections changes regularly, and her experience is vast. While she herself does not get overly invested or dependent, the number of men whose hearts she's broken is innumerable. That being said, she just recently got herself a new boyfriend.

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• Always Identical Twins: Save for the colors of their cardigans, their backpacks, and which side has the loop of hair, you wouldn't be able to tell who is who. They actually use this to their advantage, with Sumire disguising herself as Akane and the latter vice versa to trick the True Student Council and kill Haruka.
• An Ice Person: The Authority of Lust also gives the Pactbearer the ability to use ice-themed abilities.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: To make an itemized list per member:
  • Their father cheated on their mother, which forever destroyed their home.
  • Their mother refused to properly cope with the betrayal, implied to stick with her husband in a faithless marriage to the detriment of their twin daughters.
  • Sumire is romantically in love with Akane but has her feelings rejected, so she dates countless boys to compensate.
  • Akane is trying to have a "fairy tale" romance, ends up spurned and betrayed by her first and now also first ex-boyfriend, Haruka Shimizu, shortly after giving him her virginity, and she's also in love with Sumire but can't return her feelings.
• Big Sister Bully: Akane is the older and none too friendly with Sumire, after the Valentine's Day incident. After they lose their Ideals and their memories, Akane becomes a much friendlier version and the two sisters begin to mend their relationship.
• Breaking Old Trends: Or new trends depending on when you decide to deal with her, and based on previous information in H. Cromwell's notes. Unlike in other cases where a Monark made a pact with a single human, the Tonos made a pact with Luxuria at the same time, and as such, they possess the same Authority.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Played with. At first it seems like Akane's murder spree is an overreaction to Haruka, her first boyfriend who she gave her first time to ghosting her and dating her sister Sumire. Then you find a note where Haruka notes how much of a "pushover" Akane is and says he wouldn't mind giving his "sloppy seconds" to his friends, making her reaction seem a hell of a lot more justified.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Akane's introduction as the Pactbearer of Lust has her fire off a fireball at Shinya when he corners her, and when he asks her if she'd be willing to kill someone, she shows no hesitation in willing to do so, showing how mentally unhinged she is.
  • The protagonist's first meeting with Sumire has them bump into each other and the latter teasing and toying with him, despite being in a relationship with Haruka.
• Failed a Spot Check: How Akane and Sumire's ploy is exposed. When the two switch places, their mannerisms are subtle enough for someone to tell the difference. In Akane's case, she never knew about the conversation her sister had with the protagonist and Shinya regarding how looking away from a person means they're the dominant one in a relationship, so when Shinya says this, she threatens to report him for sexual harassment whereas Sumire would have played along.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In the first chapter of the game, Kurama lists "spontaneous combustion" as one of the ongoing anomalies. Take a guess as to what the Pactbearer of Lust's preferred method of dealing with people she doesn't like is?
  • When you destroy the first of Akane's Ideals, you'll see the Pactbearer's image flipping back and forth between being on the left side and the right side. And if you pay very close attention, you'll notice the Pactbearer's voice has two different tones, and she alternates between wearing light and black cardigans. Remember what color Akane and Sumire's cardigans are?
• Formerly Friendly Family: The two were intensely close in the past with many students commenting that no one really knows why Akane and Sumire suddenly had a schism driven between them, only that it started in middle school during Valentine's Day. The break probably started with their father's cheating on their mother, the collapse of the marriage short of formal divorce, and the twins developing incestuous romantic feelings for each other.
• Generation Xerox: Their family was destroyed because of their father's infidelity and their mother refusing to reconcile or get over it in a healthy manner. The both of them are cheated on by the same guy, Haruka, and they also refuse to reconcile with it a healthy manner and choose to murder and destroy the world in their grief—that they're both in love with each other and either got rejected (Sumire) or refuses to follow up on those requited feelings (Akane) complicates things even further.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: Sumire takes to calling the protagonist "Vice President". When Akane impersonates Sumire after the latter is defeated by the TSC, she calls him "Mr. VP," which Shinya was quick to pick up on.
• In Love with Love: Akane is hopelessly and unhealthily obsessed with the concept of romance, especially the "sweep off your feet, happily ever after" variety that's clean, neat, and uncomplicated. Her first boyfriend, Haruka, taking her virginity, dumping her, then having a much happier relationship with her twin sister did nothing to help that. Said twin sister being romantically in love with her made it even worse. And the rotten cherry on top is Akane returning Sumire's feelings, but being unable to admit them like Sumire can.
• Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: The both of them are.
  • Sumire is constantly hooking up with boys and breaking up with them shortly after in an attempt to distract herself from her incestuous feelings towards Akane and Akane's trying to find her "one true love."
  • Akane is trying to find a dedicated, loyal, and committed relationship with a boy to avoid having to reckon with her requited but unspoken romantic feelings towards Sumire, alongside trying to have a better, more healthy relationship than their parents' failed marriage, destroyed through infidelity.
• Leitmotif: "AIENKIEN", a manic, high-powered J-Rock song. It perfectly represents the incredible passion and emotion that drove the twins to insanity, with the voices of the vocalists contrasting each other much as Akane and Sumire do.
• Love Makes You Evil: An especially convoluted case. You'd think it would just be the two of them dating at separate times Haruka Shimizu, the Captain of the Baseball Club and a serial heartbreaker and playboy with a reputation for dropping and ghosting his exes, but then you learn that they both have incestuous feelings for each other.
• Never Trust a Trailer: While early promotional materials and trailers already spoil the fact that Sumire and Akane are Pactbearers, they imply the twins have separate pacts or one will suceed the other. In the main game proper, Akane and Sumire are the Pactbearers of Lust; since they're twins, their souls are synchronized to the point they were able to contact and make a pact with Luxuria at the same time.
• Playing with Fire: The Authority of Lust gives Akane the ability to shoot fireballs and set massive fires, which she gleefully and constantly uses with impunity the moment it suits her. Sumire, as the other Pactbearer, also has this ability.
• Polar Opposite Twins: One is kind, innocent, and obsessed with a committed romance, the other is cold, experienced, and enjoys stealing and playing with the hearts of countless boys.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Lust. Both of them suffer because of the intensity of their romantic affections, be they scorned, rejected, unrequited, or unanswered. In this case, it's the sisters' inability to reconcile with their incestuous love (or rather Akane unwilling to follow through on her attraction to Sumire) and being ragingly pissed at their playboy boyfriend Haruka.
• Twincest: Sumire is romantically in love with Akane and tried to kiss her on Valentine's Day, one year during middle school. Akane thought she was joking, rejected her feelings, and the rift between the two has never healed, with Sumire still holding a torch for her sister as she desperately tries to distract herself with other guys. Then you find out that Akane DID reciprocate Sumire's feelings, she just couldn't bring herself to admit it like her sister did.
• Twin Switch: During the 2nd Ideal, you fight Akane, breaking the trend of the Pactbearer being fought on the 3rd and final Ideal. This is actually Sumire in disguise, and since they both made a Pact to the same Monark, they have the same abilities.
• Woman Scorned: The crux of how the Pactbearer came to be in the first place, and whoo boy does she take it up a notch. While the Tono twins had a lot of issues beforehand, it was them finding out that they were dating the same guy and he turned out to be a serial heartbreaker. Worse still, Akane learned Haruka was ghosting her and dating Sumire behind her back. Both girls decide to kill him, the entire Baseball team, and his friends.
• Yandere: Both of them are, in two distinctly horrific flavors!
  • Akane wants to destroy her ex-boyfriend, Haruka, the Captain of the Baseball Team, kills all of his friends and team members for having been related to them, then burn down the rest of the world now that her fantasy of a "first love, forever love" romance has been permanently shattered.
  • Sumire is in love with Akane, who does not reciprocate her romantic feelings and is disgusted by it—or so Akane claims. Sumire does get into a flawed but comfortable somewhat romantic relationship with Akane's ex-boyfriend, Haruka... which she immediately abandons in favor of desperately confessing her love for Akane once more, after she realizes that he had dumped her and never told anyone about it, as was his trend as a serial heartbreaker. She proceeds to go along with Akane's deranged plan to murder almost the entire baseball club, and even lets Akane impersonate her so she can murder Haruka.

The Pactbearer of Greed (Unmarked Spoilers)

Kakeru Hasegawa

Voiced by: Wataru Hatano

Pactbearer of Greed

Driven by grief and regret from failing to save and honor his promises with his deceased younger brother in the wake of a tragic accident, Kakeru decides to make a Pact with the Monark of Greed to manipulate time and space itself, bending and turning back reality so he can live the life he's always wanted with his younger brother—at the cost of everything else falling to pieces.

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• Big Bad Friend: He's well aware who Yoru is and what she's up to, but up until he reveals himself as the Pactbearer of Greed at the Old Dormitory, he's been nothing but helpful to the TSC and the Protagonist especially, giving them healthcare, advice, and even risking his life to save them. Vanitas notes that his Ideals, the representations of the strength of his Ego, were already fading by the time the Protagonist shatters them, indicating he's having doubts about the whole business. He even tries to give the Protagonist the chance to kill Sora and free themselves from the barrier without having to abandon their Pacts. The Protagonist, however, rejects this and they end up fighting.
• Chekhov's Gun: Kakeru's vestigal Ideal proves to be a key piece in the Vice-President's use of his newfound Animakineses, using the memories it's accumulated and transferring them to his friends and Chiyo.
• Chekhov's Gunman: The last Ideal of Kakeru's remains unshattered since the Pactbearer himself died before the TSC could break it. However, since the Ideal is still intact, Kakeru himself can still exist in some manner within the Otherworld, and his Pact with Avaritia still makes him a Time Master. This is how he and Vanitas can send the protagonist back to the Act 1 Intermission after each chapter in Act 2.
• Disc-One Final Boss: He and his Monark Avaritia are the last bosses of Act 1. As you'll quickly discover, however, defeating him does not dispel the Mist or the Barrier, and his encounter reveals the existence of a ninth Pactbearer.
• False Friend: Subverted. Kakeru still maintains a good relationship with the rest of the True Student Council and genuinely wants them to live happily. He holds the Vice-President in especially high regard and even offers him a way to leave the Academy without destroying the barrier. It's only because of the threat Kakeru's Authority poses that the protagonist chooses to fight him.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Whenever an Ideal is shattered, the Mist goes along with it. Since Kakeru's last Ideal wasn't destroyed, however, the Mist generated by his Authority continues to linger in the Old School Building basement. It isn't until "Deepest Reaches" that his Ideal finally shatters from continued overuse, causing the Mist to finally dissipate.
• Mundane Utility: He's been using his Space Master powers and ability to basically teleport anywhere he pleases to get to the infirmary or anywhere else he needs to be in a timely and convenient manner.
• Not Quite Dead: Since the TSC was unable to shatter his last Ideal because of him moving it to somewhere in the Otherworld (heavily implied to be within the Gate), he still manages to exist in some way, albeit as an "echo". He dies for real when he uses the last of his Authority to send the Vice-President back in time to when Sora just disbanded the TSC and Chiyo is still alive, causing his Ideal to shatter. The Vice-President can wish for his revival by having a rematch with Yog-Sothoth.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Kakeru is aware that Yoru is a Monark, but he mistakingly believes her Pactbearer to be Sora. As it turns out, the only part he got wrong was which Jingu Yoru has a pact with.
• Space Master: One-half of his powers. Kakeru can put any person or matter anywhere he wants in the world, so long as it's within the sphere of influence of his Authority.
• Spanner in the Works: The entirety of Act 2 and "Deepest Reaches" is made possible because of his interference. Since he had one Ideal remaining, he was still able to exist within the Otherworld and continuously used his Authority to rewind time whenever the Vice-President defeated Sora or Yoru and died in the process, all to strengthen his Resonance to the point where it could affect people's souls.
• Story-Breaker Power: Far more so than the likes of Kokoro's precog-analysis, which can predict and guide her to the future and is outright stated by both Vanitas, Ryotaro, and Kokoro to be the most powerful Authority in existence. Were it not for the fact that his power is incredibly taxing to use and his own Ideals are in the process of fading away, Kakeru would have likely succeeded in turning back time in exchange for destroying the school. It's also pointed out that a single use of Kakeru's Time Master ability to wind back time to a few days filled up a large portion of the old dormitories. By Kakeru's own estimate, were he to use go back ten years in the past, his Authority would cover 20% of the Earth in Mist.
• Time Master: One-half of his powers, and the most powerful aspect of the Authority of Greed. He can rewind time back to any point, with his goal being to go back in time ten years ago. It's exhausting, however, so for the most part he just uses his Space Master powers instead.
• Token Good Teammate: Out of all the enemy Pactbearers, he's the least malicious in the bunch, and the fact that his Ideals are in the process of fading means he was already having second thoughts. His "death" and witnessing the Vice-President's struggle only cements his Heel–Face Turn and, alongside Vanitas, offers to rewind time so the Vice-President can find a way out of the school with his friends and defeat Yoru and Sora.
• We Can Rule Together: Offers the Vice-President an alternative to destroying the Pactbearers Ideals', asking for a team-up to defeat Sora so they could dispel the barrier. The Vice-President and his partner both refuse on the grounds that his Authority, if used to go so far back into the past, would cause a great deal of catastrophe and cover a large portion of the world in Mist.
• Worf Had the Flu: Given the nature of his Authority, Kakeru could have easily rewinded time to heal any injury he suffered at the hands of the TSC. The only reason he hadn't was because of the debilitating wound Yoru inflicted on him prior to the TSC fighting him.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: He's just one of the many Pactbearers to show up, if not the first when the anomalies began occurring, and knows who and what Yoru is. Yoru allowed him to do as he pleased up until the Vice-President defeated the Pactbearers of Pride, Envy, Wrath, and Lust and mortally wounds him for having fulfilled his role in her plans as well as being too dangerous for the Vice-President to face at his best. Fortunately, Kakeru teleporting his last Ideal gives him the chance to screw Yoru over by helping the Vice-President strengthen his Resonance.

The Ninth Pactbearer (UNMARKED SPOILERS)

Hugo Cromwell

Voiced by: Shinichirou Kamio

Pactbearer of Woe

The true identity of Yugo Jingu. After falling in love with Sora Jingu, he changed his identity and cut all ties with his past to spend his life with her. So lost in his grief after her passing, Hugo sought a means to resurrect her. Using the Jingu Family's research on Daemons, he made contact and forged a pact with Tristia, the Monark of Woe

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• All for Nothing: Hugo was all but guaranteed to succeed in reviving Sora, having both defeated the Monarks and was implied to have even defeated Yog-Sothoth. The reason why Sora is still deceased is that Yog-Sothoth told him there would be consequences to his actions, and Hugo interpreted those consequences as Sora's revival dooming the world. For an extra kick, it's possible Hugo was wrong in that conclusion as the Vice-President can potentially revive Sora in "Addendum: Dawn" without any problems or consequences whatsoever.
• Black-and-White Morality: He's genuinely dedicated to protecting the world, and he's equally as genuine as allowing Kokoro and Ryotaro to keep their pacts and Ideals under the condition of observing them as the memories from their experiences in Act 2 let him know they are genuinely good people will are unlikely to abuse their Authorities in the real world. The only thing he will not compromise on is the Vice-President's continued existence, which will cause distortions and therefore must be removed.
• Dark Is Not Evil: He's mostly dressed in all black, but he's a good man deep down. The problem is that, like Sora, he will not compromise on matters that threaten the world, and he will fight to kill the Vice-President because he's an aberration capable of bringing distortion to the world.
• Despair Event Horizon: After having given up everything to be with Sora, Hugo felt there was nothing worth living for anymore when she died. This despair is what most likely made him make a pact with Tristia, a Monark who presides over the equivalent for the eighth sin "Despair" and accept Tristia's offer to undergo Laser-Guided Amnesia while she took on Sora's identity and live in blissful ignorance. Once Hugo regains his memories, however, he's managed to move on from Sora's death and decide he will protect the world she loved so dearly, which puts him in direct conflict with the True Student Council.
• Genius Bruiser: Though his claim to fame is his extensive research and documentation into the Otherworld and Daemons, Hugo is a Pactbearer will give the TSC the fight of their lives.
• Good Is Not Soft: He shares in the Jingu family's ideology in that he is willing to do whatever he must to protect humanity from the influence of the Otherworld and the Daemons. This is what leads to his conflict with the TSC, more specifically his unwillingness to allow the Vice-President to exist as he's an aberration and artificial Monark, and therefore must be killed before he can cause distortions in the world.
• He Was Right There All Along: "Deepest Depths" reveals he's still alive and true to his notes, he changed his name when he married Sora Jingu and took on her surname.
• Jerkass Has a Point: As unpleasant and dismissive as he is toward Tristia after regaining his memories, Hugo has good reason to be concerned about Tristia. His notes about the Monark of Woe indicate she's the most immature of the Monarks due to her limited interaction with humans up until this point, making her unstable. In the TSC Pactbearer chapters, Hugo's death or impending demise sends Tristia flying off the deep end and starts killing off students and teachers with even the most minuscule potential of becoming a Pactbearer or starts absorbing everyone in the academy.
• Loophole Abuse: Hugo discovered one in his pursuit to revive Sora. There were no other Pactbearers besides himself at the time he made a pact with Tristia, but the requirements to gain an audience with Yog-Sothoth stated he only needed to beat the Monarks, all of whom reside in Abyss—the "depths" of the Otherworld.
• Old Master: Alongside Hayate, he's one of the oldest Pactbearers among the cast. His old age does absolutely nothing to impede his combat prowess, including his military-style training and his capabilities as a Pactbearer.
• Pet the Dog: While he won't compromise on killing the Vice-President, Hugo tells the TSC he won't shatter Kokoro or Ryotaro's Ideals and allow them to keep their pacts, albeit placing the two under his watchful eye. This is in large part because of the Vice-President's empowered Resonance giving him memories of Act 2 and realizing neither Kokoro nor Ryotaro are totally evil and chaotic, and have genuinely good motives for making their pacts.
• Start of Darkness: Sora Jingu's death was this for him. He was so driven to bring her back that he turned to the Otherworld for the means to do so, which led to him making a pact with the Monark of Woe.
• That Man Is Dead: He cast aside his old name to live in Japan with a woman he met in Shin Mikado. In "Deepest Depths", he reclaims his past identity as Hugo Cromwell and more or less disavows "Yugo Jingu" as if to reflect his decision to move on from Sora's death, though this results in Shinya rejecting him in favor of siding with the Vice-President.
• Villainous RRoD: To Hugo's shock, his Monarks begin to disappear after he's defeated by the True Student Council and doesn't understand why since his Ideals are intact. Vanitas informs him they shattered as Hugo's wish was to be reunited with Sora Jingu. As this wish was the foundation for his pact with Tristia, moving on from her death and resolving to instead protect the world she cherished caused his Ideals to shatter.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Hugo's decision to revive Sora at any cost led him to make a pact with Tristia, who's desire to become "Sora Jingu" after Hugo's attempts at resurrecting his wife failed grew so problematic they led to the events in the game.

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