The Night Unfurls / Tropes E to N

This page covers tropes found in The Night Unfurls.

Tropes A to D | Tropes E To N | Tropes O to Z |

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E

• Eating the Eye Candy: Without the Purple Prose.
  • Soren cannot help but stare at Anna and Grace's frames whenever they interact.
  • Original version:
    • Chapter 10: Bergen tries extremely hard not to stare at Olga and Chloe's cleavages. Emphasis on "tries". Chloe quickly notices and gives him a scowl.
    • Chapter 21: Sanakan bites her lip slightly as she is fixated on Hugh's lean frame, easily seen with his coat removed. The narration indicates that this is a sight she enjoyed, with Yurie even commenting that she stares too much.
    • Chapter 27: One of the kids in an orphanage that serves as Soren's childhood home stares unabashedly at Lily. Being a twelve-year-old girl does not stop her from blushing and finding her pretty.
  • Remastered version:
    • Chapter 7: As Kyril removes his mask to take a sip of water, which reveals a fair-looking face, Olga internally remarks that he would've been handsome had he been more expressive. She cannot believe she had that thought in her head. From how she quickly looks to the side after Kyril senses her watching, she probably stared at his face for quite a while.
    • Chapter 10: On the journey to Rad, Boris does his best in keeping his eyes off of Grace's features.
• Eldritch Abomination:
  • The climax of the Tragedy of Rad Arc features one of Shamuhaza's creations as such. A "deformed, ungodly amalgamation of mortal and eldritch minds", this abomination is a non-subtle reference to The One Reborn. It makes its appearance via a tear in the sky, forming a void that connects the borders between Eostia and "the realities beyond" (i.e. appearing outside physical reality). It also exudes a form of power that has made Rad uninhabitable. Kyril, knowing the consequences of the abomination running amok in Eostia, is glad that he got rid of it without the assistance of others.
  • Shamuhaza, the madman who delves in the Eldritch Truth, ends up turning into one himself. His new form is named "The Inane One", a being that resembles a great scuttling insect with many beady eyes, residing in a lake within the Malys Estate. An obvious reference to Rom, the Vacuous Spider. Fighting the creature results in a Brown Note that, had it not been for Celestine's intervention, would have caused riots in the streets of Ken^note the distance between Ken and the creature is presumed to be very long, meaning that the Brown Note would have potentially caused a country-wide disaster.
  • Alas, there is Always Someone Better even among eldritch beings. Featuring a rare (anti-)heroic example, The Protagonist Kyril Sutherland is a great one in human form. Obtaining the Childhood's Beginning ending in the game would do that. Throughout the story, he deliberately inhibits his otherworldly might, so as to prevent unnecessary collateral damage as a result of exposure to the Eldritch Truth. Only a glimpse of his true form is subtly shown, that is, a Giant Eye of Doom. While almost every character, even the readers, have no idea about the full extent of his power, it is safe to say that this is for their own good. Just look at what happens to Shamuhaza when he is shown whatever is behind Kyril's mask. One gaze is enough to send another thrashing in agony, forever.
• Eldritch Location:
  • Presumably as a result of Shamuhaza somehow managing to discover some of the School of Mensis's research, Rad has been twisted into, in succinct terms, Yarha'Gul 2.0. A cloying silence permeates what was once a bustling fortress city, with statues in resemblance of Rad's townspeople galore. The Yarha'Gul reference is more apparent when the last foe Kyril faces in this place is a half-corpse, half-stone amalgamation of faces and bodies that crawls out of the void from the darkened sky above, much like The One Reborn.
  • The Malys Estate. The rumours of it being haunted by ghosts or spirits turn out to be false, but that doesn't make it any less wrong. There's Alien Geometries, there's vile, overgrown vegetation, and for some reason, there is a great lake that houses an insectoid Eldritch Abomination that is the source of the "eldritch" stuff happening in this fanfic. Goes on to show that otherworldly voids, dimensions and universes are not a prerequisite for a mind-screwy location — even an unassuming estate building is enough.
  • Proving that even the safest havens can also be places that don't make a lot of sense, there's the Hunter's Dream. On the surface, it is a foggy, tranquil and melancholy place, with a workshop that sits on a small hill overlooking a field of white flowers and graves. It also houses two of the most powerful entities in the series (i.e. a doll and her squid), one of them is the master who controls the Dream however he wants. To be precise: only the two can enter and leave freely as they wish; time flows according to his will; any wounds sustained heal more quickly; visitors are present only if he allows them to be there, like a private Discord server; and the amount of fog present outside the workshop is dependent on his mood.
• Eldritch Transformation:
  • The readers don't get to see the transformation process, but Shamuhaza transforms into an Eldritch Abomination that looks a thick arthropod, awaiting for Kyril's arrival to fight him as a One-Winged Angel. Prior to this, many Innocent Bystanders and Mooks from the Black Dogs have sprouted many deformities resulting from his experiments. Said experiments contain elements of the research done by the Healing Church or the School of Mensis, both of which have invoked this trope before in the game.
  • Readers shouldn't forget what happened to Kyril, or rather, which ending he picked prior to the events of the fanfic.
• Elemental Motifs: Kyril Sutherland is a rare example that is metaphorically associated with multiple elements as opposed to just one.
  • Water: Kyril is compared to water-related terms, like ocean, waves, and storm. The Terrible Ticking Celestine experiences whenever the Hunter is within her proximity is the roaring sound of the ocean, its waves crashing against the shore. Olga can see a storm brewing around the Hunter as she witnesses his Tranquil Fury. Kyril is an uncannily effective One-Man Army who is entirely capable of killing everyone if he so chooses, akin to the overwhelmingly destructive potential of large bodies of water. The Hunter is characterised as cool, patient, level-headed, and full of depth. Lastly, his hidden nature as a great one evokes the unfathomable nature of the Eldritch Ocean Abyss, for none could comprehend what he is truly capable of.
  • Darkness: This one is more obvious — the man who was once a Hunter of Monsters trying to survive the Night of the Hunt is dressed in dark grey and is associated with “dark” stuff (e.g. death, demon, secrets, shadows, masquerade, etc.). Overlapping with water above^note particularly the deeper part of the ocean — the abyss, Kyril has a dreaded reputation, a weapon he exploits to its fullest to demoralise anyone who crosses him. Darkness is a Primal Fear that makes people scared and vulnerable after all. Personality-wise, the Hunter is a gloomy, mangsty, and paranoid Broken Bird. At the same time, he has a nobler, more content side that he displays in private.
  • Metal: A subtle one. Much of Kyril’s life is combat-related (as per his internal monologue in the remastered version, "every battle a blur of blood, screams, and steel"). Both his journey and arsenal revolve around blood, which contains iron and has a coppery scent. His Pocket Dimension features a workshop with metallic weapons left and right, a place for enhancing strength and fortifying weaponry. He’s a Multi-Melee Master and a Multi-Ranged Master, akin to the diverse nature of metals. Being The Spock and The Leader most of the time, Kyril's tendency to apply rules, reason, and the greater good to his decisions marks him as a cold, logical, efficient, and progressive figure. Determined, but not outright inflexible.
• Emotions Versus Stoicism: Slightly leans towards the Stoicism side.
  • Strong, uncontrolled emotions are associated with either evil or stupidity. The Black Dogs are driven by their libido, making them The Usual Adversaries of this setting. The same goes for the orcs, with the additional traits of being barbaric and Always Chaotic Evil. Non-antagonists who lets their impulse drive them either don't think things through, or find themselves Bullying a Dragon, both of which tend to bite them in the ass.
  • Kyril, the celibate, dispassionate Spock who hardly emotes, might as well be the champion of what Stoicism should be. As a mentor, he imparts on his apprentices that no hunter can be truly effective when ruled over by emotions. As a Four-Star Badass, he imparts on his Men of Sherwood that they are soldiers, not children playing at war. The end result is that all of them prove to be competent fighters who get the job done. On the surface, Kyril comes across as brutal and heartless, but his Hidden Depths reveal that he is not as ruthless as people think he is. Kyril's professionalism is what keeps him from becoming the very beasts he hunts, and for all his blunt demeanour, the guy has no problem empathising with others.
• Empathic Weapon: The Holy Moonlight Sword whispers to Kyril about the prospect of battle whenever it glows. This trait is an expansion of the sword's in-game lore, where it is said to offer "a very private, elusive sort" of guidance to the wielder. The sword would be a bona-fide Blood Knight if it were a person.
• Entitled to Have You:
  • Michelle Pantielle towards Maia. He became obsessed with her since she was recruited as a Shield by Celestine, having chased after her for some time, much to the chagrin of his own family and Maia herself, who would later flat-out tell him that she never loved him. His latest act of pursuit is to throw a party for Kyril as a nominal gesture of welcome for his knighthood, so that he can continue to show Maia his affections in a more spectacular way. During said party, Michelle declares her his lover while seething with jealousy at the sight of Maia being friendly towards the "false knight" Kyril, as he is being promptly ignored by the both of them, never mind that their relationship is merely professional. This trope comes in full circle in Chapter 11, when Maia is under the mercy of the Black Dogs as Ansur is attacked. Here, after Michelle expresses his frustration about her choosing Kyril over him despite joining the "winning side" that is the Black Dogs, he decides to have his way with her.
  • Olga observes that this mindset is present within the rebels who are exhorting men to join the Black Dogs, summed up as "men practising their 'right' to a woman's body as if they own it".
  • In the remastered version, Morgan has this attitude about Grace that counts as a what they do type: since he "owns" the town of Baskerville as its "protector", by this reasoning, he should "own" her as well. Lampshaded and discussed in this exchange between Morgan and Kyril:
    Morgan: You've got a lot of nerve. The dark elf is mine, much like this little town. The Black Dogs are the protectors of this place so you just screwed up big time, friend.
    Kyril: Are you? All I see are thugs... let me guess, in exchange for the coin you get the privilege of whatever women you want?
    Morgan: What, you jealous?
    Kyril: No. Rather I feel sorry for them if you're the only one willing.
    Morgan: Grace is mine.
    Kyril: We don't always get what we want in life. *tilts his head* Or are you going to have a tantrum whenever someone says no?
• The Epic: The Night Unfurls is a War Fic that concerns Eostia, a workable, but flawed country dealing with a Military Coup started by its most renowned mercenary group, the Black Dogs. Escalating into warfare, a group of heroes that fight for the country, Kyril especially, strive to achieve victory against the Black Dogs, not only via the battlefield, but also via rooting out their supporters within the country. In addition, the fanfic is a Continuation Fic of Bloodborne's "Childhood's Beginning" ending, which details Kyril's next Hunt. Extraordinary deeds aside, he has been to some sort of Underworld / Hell prior to the events of this story (the Hunter's Nightmare).
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • The Hunter's very first scene is a Batman Cold Open that depicts him finishing off his hunt of an orc war band. His calm demeanour plus the trail of corpses he leaves behind is enough to tell the readers that he's an adept, experienced killer. There's also how this protagonist uses a demented saw-cleaver hybrid, instead of a sword or any traditional weapon, which immediately marks him as sinister, dangerous, and anti-heroic.
  • The Plain Doll kneels in front of a gravestone, praying for the Hunter's safety. The Hunter, who is introduced beforehand as a sinister individual, lets her finish. Then comes her signature, customary greeting^note "Welcome home, good hunter. What is it you desire?". Within five short paragraphs, the Doll is established as a tender soul, something the Hunter also happens to have. The two are also clearly shown as dearest friends.
  • Celestine goes through a vision, a premonition of a man garbed in dark grey and a tattered tricorne hat, the saw-like thing in hand, capable of both peace and laying waste to everything, including those that she holds dear. Evidently, it is a Godzilla Threshold to seek him out in hopes of ending the Forever War her country is embroiled in, but even so, she chooses to do so.
  • Vault is introduced as The Leader of the Black Dogs, proud of his accomplishments. Regarding the Hunter, he recognises him as the person who managed to kill three infamous orcs with Names to Run Away from Really Fast. The Hunter replies that he is unaware that those orcs had names, a reply that Vault readily approves. Before their conversation, Kyril can somehow sense ambition by looking at his eyes, implying that he has a separate agenda unknown to others. Also counts as foreshadowing.
  • Original version:
    • Michelle interrupts the meeting between his father Lord Michael Pantielle and the newly-appointed Black Knight Sir Kyril by slamming the door open. When demanded to apologise to his guest, he whines about having to apologise to a person of lower status than he is, which earns him a slap and a lot of scolding from his already furious father.
    • Sanakan's first appearance shows her putting her trust on Hugh to find a way out of the chaos due to the Black Dogs, but her big moment is when she demands Kyril, an Advancing Boss of Doom who just massacred every single Black Dog in the church she is trapped in, to take her while leaving the others alone. He's impressed.
    • Regarding the protection of the nuns of Feoh, who were among the many victims of the Black Dogs, Archbishop Grishom has something to say about this: "My clergy cannot waste any more resources on those nuns." His reasoning for this is that he believes they would betray the country as they have been "tainted" by the Black Dogs.
    • Soren's introduction is a failed attempt at nabbing Sanakan's coin purse. The conversation between them after their Chase Scene cements him as a Cowardly Lion who, despite his nervousness, decides to go after a high-profile person, the target being Sir Kyril's right hand herself. Justified, for he fears the consequences of failing to meet the demands of his "boss", namely a street thug who owns the streets.
    • Shamuhaza is introduced experimenting on the citizens of Rad to produce a legion of Body Horror Elite Mooks via Face Full of Alien Wing-Wong. This is complete with a Wham Shot of Luu-Luu as the specimen for his final testing.
  • Remastered version:
    • Alicia Arcturus's tendency to judge and jump to conclusions is laid bare during her first interaction with Kyril. This is especially so for Kyril's status as a foreigner.
    • In spite of his brief first appearance in Chapter 4, the moment that establishes Boris as a character, together with the Black Dogs in general, is during Chapter 6, where he reluctantly reveals his secret to Kyril, that he killed one of his comrades for hurting a prisoner of war. Keep in mind that this happens right after a flashback of Kyril witnessing several mercenaries molesting Chloe. Suffice to say, the readers are known that Boris is a Token Good Teammate amongst the depravity of the Black Dogs.
    • The first thing Morgan does in his initial appearance is to call out to Grace, shouting at her to "get her beautiful self out here". Then, while conversing, he reaches out, a gesture that causes her to slip away from his hand, taking a step back.
    • Just the Rat's first line of dialogue, bolded, reveals a lot about him. A complete enigma, he's probably some sort of god/demon/entity, from how he has lived for around thousands of years. For some reason, he knows that there's more to our protagonist, Kyril, than meets the eye.
      "Well now... thousands of years pass by in these woods and yet never have I met someone like you, a man touched by the gods..."
• Et Tu, Brute?:
  • After the assault of the Black Fortress is deemed a success, Vault and the Black Dogs, who are considered the finest and most trustworthy mercenary group in Eostia, decide to betray the Seven Shields and declare war on Eostia, knowing that the vast resources and armies are enough for them to claim power for themselves.
  • The dark elves of Loraine, Grace included, share this sentiment when Olga, their queen who has fought for them, sacrificed the city to the war bands of the orcs, leaving them to be subjected to Rape, Pillage, and Burn.
• Every Proper Lady Should Curtsy:
  • Being the only Shield that looks like and behaves like a princess, Prim often does this when greeting Kyril.
  • Shani does a low curtsy to Kyril to show off her cleavage when they meet at the Rosie. Kyril is not amused.
  • Fitting her Victorian motif, this is how Evetta greets Celestine and Olga when they meet in the Waking World. In an unusual case, the way she curtsies is described as too graceful for ladies of the court to emulate.
  • In Chapter 30 of the original, Lily curtsies when greeting Anna and Ian, who came to visit Soren. Grace lightly chastises her for being too formal and calling one of her friends "Miss Florence".
• Everybody's Dead, Dave: With the exception of the Doll, it is implied in Kyril's backstory that every named character he met in Yharnam (or rather, the ones who are on good terms with him) is dead.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Perhaps unsurprisingly, a majority of the Black Dogs, as well as several traitors who chose to join their cause, play this trope straight.
  • Vault assumes that Kyril's reason for breaking Olga and Chloe out of prison is because he wants the two for himself, when in reality, he does that for the sake of completing his mission of bringing Olga to Ken. Heck, his ambition of creating a Sex Empire is built on the assumption that All Men Are Perverts, so any man would follow him for the prospect that they can all "live like kings", never mind that it is repeatedly shown throughout the story that there are men who disagree and hence resist his regime. The introduction of Token Good Teammate Boris and three Black Dog defectors in the remastered version further proves that not every Black Dog is willing to support Vault's ambition.
  • In a similar vein, when Kyril walked into a scene of several Black Dog mercs molesting Chloe, they assumed that either he wants to join in with them, or he wants her for himself. In fact, he wants to take her to Olga because she asked him to, and that he needed their cooperation for their journey to the South to be less difficult.
  • Beasley is flabbergasted that Kyril would ruin his plans by siding with "weak-willed women".
  • Shamuhaza finds Kyril's persistence to intentionally limit himself via retaining his humanity misguided, believing that the Eldritch Truth is ripe for the taking. The fanfic has made it clear that he is tampering with knowledge he does not understand.
  • There's also Morgan in the remastered version, who thinks that Kyril wants to engage in a Cock Fight with him over Grace, after witnessing how the stranger in the grey coat pulls her in closer to him. Moments ago, Anna asked Kyril to help Grace, who is being harassed by Morgan. He devised a ploy to deliberately rile Morgan up and get his attention, not only to defend her, but also root him out as a traitor.
• Evil Is Not Well-Lit:
  • The Black Fortress, true to its name, is a dark place bound to the will of its mistress, Olga Discordia. Its hallways are always dimly lit with torches.
  • The Malys Estate is the domain of the Leaping Lizards and later Shamuhaza, who not only experimented on the former group to produce more mutated troops, but also became an Eldritch Abomination himself. The estate is so dark that the three hunters attacking the place have to use a lantern and a couple of torches to advance. The fact that their company launches the attack at night only serves to deepen the darkness within.
  • The place where an unnamed group of nobles and clergymen are plotting at the end of Chapter 10, remastered version is an undisclosed location in the dark.
• Evil Tower of Ominousness: Downplayed for the Black Fortress, which is not a "tower" per se, but fulfils its purpose nonetheless. It is situated in Garan, a Mordor in the north, as well as the home of Evil Overlords like Olga (former) and Vault (present).
• Eviler than Thou: Exaggerated. The Leaping Lizards Arc contrasts a band of slavers, the Leaping Lizards, with an Evil Sorcerer who plays with syringes, Shamuhaza. Both are on the same side (the Black Dogs), but the former, built up as the Arc Villain, is experimented on by the latter offstage By the time the good guys meet them, they are now mutated Elite Mooks, with wings, spines, insect legs, and other deformities sticking out of them. The one who gets the short end of the stick is Morgan, the leader of the Leaping Lizards, who is heavily implied to be reduced to a mutilated corpse. Even Vault, the Big Bad, calls Shamuhaza "a crazy man".
• Eye Scream: Several occasions, not including the times where Kyril inflicts this on mooks.
  • Hugh was stabbed in the eye by an orc in Chapter 4.
  • Chloe lost an eye when held captive by Mandeville during the Hunt for Mandeville Arc.
  • Strangely, this happens to Kyril in Chapter 32. To elaborate, he is shot dead by an assassin from a distance, and for some reason, he loses an eye upon respawning. This violates one of the rules of the source material, that is the Good Hunter should respawn with no impediment upon death.

F

• Fairytale Motifs:
  • Kyril is a knight who attempts to rescue members of the Seven Shields (princesses). The first attempt (Alicia and Prim) is successful. The second attempt (Maia) is half-successful because the captive is raped. The third attempt (Luu-Luu) is a failure because the captive is Brainwashed and Crazy and has to be mercy-killed.
  • For a deliberate inversion, Grace's narration in Chapter 10 of the original emphasises how Kyril isn't a Knight In Shining Armour in the fairy tales. Later chapters have Kyril internally expressing the same sentiment.
    Kyril Sutherland was no noble knight in shining armor. He wasn't a hero in the fairy tales who saved the princess and slew the evil dragon. He was a killer through and through. He didn't see combat as glorious, in fact he knew more about combat than any noble knight or warrior. Combat was hell, and the only reward was your continuing survival.
• Fall Guy: Sanakan deduces that Grishom is set up as the fall guy by Mandeville for the rebellion at Ken. Kyril confirms this, believing that Mandeville is doing that to secretly secure routes from Ken to the Black Fortress, where Vault is residing.
• Fan Disservice: Guaranteed during any instance of Prison Rape or Rape, Pillage, and Burn, where the victims AND perpetrators are often naked. Special mention goes to the "church orgy" scene in Chapter 4 of the original version — it's not just the sight of the debauchery that's revolting, there's also the smell of certain bodily fluids as well. And then Kyril decides to go "Advancing Boss of Retribution" mode and add some gorn to the mix...
• Fantastic Ghetto:
  • The reason why dark elves are rarely seen outside of the North. Even the act of bringing dark elves to the South would catch the guards' attention. It's a miracle that Grace, a dark elf, is able to get employed as a Fan Service With A Smile in Ansur (which is in the South).
  • The Fortress City of Rad is a subtle one. One one hand, it is a populous city where one would not see the same race twice. However, it is dedicated to the fantasy races (aka. the non-human population) once considered to be undesirable by the Kingdom of Eostia.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • Dark elves have a long history of being enslaved, a commodity in the slave markets. Fed up with this predicament, the Dark Elf Queen Olga (plus her loyal vassal Chloe) developed a hatred towards humans and retaliated against Eostia's regime by starting a war that would last for centuries. The situation only worsened. At present, dark elves get so much enmity from the others, to the point where the mere act of bringing dark elves into Eostia's capital is forbidden. Even though the slavers are eventually crushed one by one, the narrative doesn't guarantee that the humans would stop hating the dark elves and vice versa.
  • The dark elves are not alone in regards to troubles with human slavers — the tribes of Cat Folk known as Wild Ones had been forced out by the native humans and faced enslavement long before Celestine came into power.
  • Kyril discusses this trope a couple of times in the original version, noting how the human race care a big deal about being "purer" than the non-human races. As he is about to meet the Wild Ones in person, he internally comments on the irony that the humans ended up following a high elf (Celestine) and named her a queen.
  • The remastered version provides more details on Rad. It is a fortress city dedicated to the non-human population, specifically, as per The Rat, "the beast kin and all other folk that the Kingdom of Eostia once considered undesirable". While it is true that Rad has a reputation as the melting pot for human and non-human kind, which mitigates this trope a bit, there is an implication that this measure all but serves as a Fantastic Ghetto.
    The Rat: Truly, the Goddess has done much for the sake of unity... and yet, at the same time so little.
• Fantasy Gun Control: Zig-zagged.
  • Only three characters (all hunters) have guns and trick weapons that shoot bullets under their possession: Kyril, Hugh and Soren, which makes sense, considering they are related to the Bloodborne setting. Other than that, the Kuroinu 'verse, assumed to be a standard Medieval European Fantasy, seem to indicate that no original guns and cannons exist in the setting. To elaborate, none of the populace or soldiery is shown using firearms of any kind, and there is no indication as to whether there is any firearm or even gunpowder production in the land.
  • There is evidence showing that people from Eostia actually know what a firearm is, which further complicates matters. Best illustrated in the remastered version, where Vera, one of Alicia's subordinates, is able to identify that Kyril has a pistol holstered at his side, while describing his other firearm^note the Hunter's Blunderbuss as "one much like a musket save for its barrel", which looks more like a cannon. Vault, in one occasion, internally narrates how Kyril uses his firearms to take down orc war chiefs in one shot. Both examples indicate that terms related to guns (pistol, musket, barrel, firearms) are NOT a foreign concept — certain people, if not all, from the Kuroinu 'verse have some degree of knowledge on the nature of firearms. More importantly, there has never been a single character that have shown to be confused or weirded out when they see someone wielding a gun instead of other "typical" ranged weapons like bows, crossbows, or magic staffs. In fact, one certain character, Klaus (aka Claudia's husband), has shown interest in replicating the mechanism of Kyril's pistol^note it's a very trivial issue, not a major plot point, but still!
  • Thorn seems to be the exception, as seen in Chapter 33 of the original. There, ashigaru^note a kind of infantry are shown wielding arquebus muskets.
• Fascinating Eyebrow:
  • Since Hugh is mute, raising an eyebrow is his way of saying "huh?" or "hmm..."
  • Olga has a habit of raising an eyebrow when teasing Celestine for her feelings towards Kyril, causing the latter much embarrassment.
  • Kyril raises a brow when he catches Sanakan and Hugh making out.
  • Lily raises an eyebrow to show her amusement regarding Grace being worried about Kyril potentially getting hurt.
  • Kyril raises a brow upon hearing Celestine admit how old she is.
• Fate Worse than Death: This is what happens to Shamuhaza upon glimpsing what was behind the mortal mask of Kyril Sutherland. To quote Chapter 22, he "suffered every undignified death imagined and unimagined until the ending of an age", which lasts seemingly an eternity from his perspective, yet only for a moment in real time. That does not include the mild Purple Prose that describes the suffering he would face again and again.
• Feel No Pain:
  • Kyril is not insensitive to pain, but the fact that he can shrug off debilitating injuries, as well as possessing Blood Vials that heal him completely speaks volumes regarding his pain threshold. It is then subverted in Chapter 14, where he gets struck by the tendrils of a mutated war chief. Chuckling to himself that it has been far too long since he felt pain like this, it marks the original story's Serial Escalation.
  • Shamuhaza's half-insect, half-human Elite Mooks don't seem to feel any pain. Luckily, they can still be killed.
• Field Promotion:
  • The aftermath of the Rad Arc has Sharl becoming leader of the scouts after Indriga's death, as well as Bergen being promoted from sergeant to lieutenant.
  • Kyril gets promoted from knight to Lord Executioner for his efforts in the Rebel Scum Arc.
• Fights Like a Normal: Kyril Sutherland, despite having the Combo Platter Powers that comes with being a great one, fights like a Hunter of Monsters out of Bloodborne — a trick weapon on one hand, and a firearm on the other. There's a multitude of reasons for this: some of his abilities don't directly apply to combat (e.g. his Touch Telepathy and Brainwashing); his other abilities may cause unnecessary collateral damage if he is careless (e.g. his Brown Note and One Wing Angel), and; he wants to conceal the existence of anything related to Yharnam and the great ones, which includes said powers and his true nature.
• Fire-Breathing Weapon: Both Kyril and Lily use the Flamesprayer as an offhand weapon for setting crowds of foes ablaze. For the former, it is also used to burn prisoners alive during interrogation.
• Fire of Comfort:
  • Original version:
    • Chapter 1 has Kyril resting in an abandoned farm with a fireplace in it. He puts down his weapon, stares at the fire, falls asleep, and enters his more comfortable pocket abode — the Hunter's Dream.
    • Kyril and Celestine meet in the Hunter's Dream in Chapter 12. A fireplace is present, heating up a kettle of tea for host and guest. The warmth and peacefulness of Kyril's home is emphasised, with Celestine internally noting that the normally morose fellow's mood has improved significantly.
    • In Chapter 14, Grace pays a visit to her friends Anna and Ian, with Soren as her guard. Inside the small house, a fireplace is present in the living room to emphasise the warmth and comfort at home, especially during the cold winter.
  • Remastered version:
    • Chapter 7 features a scene between Kyril and Olga near a fireplace. While the former is tending to the fire, Olga is comfortable with revealing her reasons for her hatred towards humans, and starting a Forever War because of said hatred. Their conversation even ends with Kyril beckoning her to come close to the fire to help her feel better.
• Fix Fic: Turns Kuroinu, originally a hentai, into a dark/low fantasy without the NSFW elements while adding some Bloodborne into the mix. In particular, most of the Seven Shields avoid their fate of being enslaved and raped by the Black Dogs, as it happens in Kuroinu Canon. They also get more character.
• Flirting Under Fire: Sanakan and Hugh do this briefly during the hunt for Shamuhaza within the streets of Rad. After mentioning that they still have to go on a date when they are done, he kisses her on the cheek in response.
• Floral Theme Naming: Lily, a nun who becomes Kyril's third apprentice, and the Knights of Iris, a light cavalry force. Both are named after flowers.
• Flower Motifs:
  • The workshop of the Hunter's Dream is surrounded by white flowers and gravestones. While Bloodborne doesn't specify as to what sort of flowers they are, the remastered version of the fanfic notes that these flowers are white asphodels. White asphodels are associated with mourning and death. Fitting for a melancholy yet tranquil place like the Dream, filled with memorials of hunters who have participated the Night of the Hunt. Its master has also caused and experienced death more times than he can count.
  • The lily is associated with purity, chastity, and, less commonly, rebirth. The character of the same name starts out as a nun of the Church, suffers a Rape as Drama, becomes Kyril's third apprentice, serves as Combat Medic during the war, and Takes A Level In Bad Ass. Quite the journey.
  • According to the remastered version, the Iris Knights, led by Alicia Arcturus, are the finest light cavalry forces of Feoh, where every member is expected to follow the ideal of the Knight in Shining Armor. Common meanings of the iris are royalty, faith, wisdom, hope, and valour.
• Force and Finesse:
  • Sanakan and Hugh is an obvious duo. Sanakan is the screaming powerhouse with the giant hammer or BFS, while Hugh is the graceful fighter with the whip-cane, katana, or the bow-blade.
  • Chapter 13 of the remastered version reveals that Alicia and Maia attempted to invoke this trope during the Trial by Combat against Kyril as showcased in the previous chapter. The strategy is that Alicia, in battle armour, would focus on durability and support while wielding a longsword. Maia, in light leather armour, would focus on speed and agility while wielding twin short swords. Alas, their opponent is the Good Hunter.
    "What fool would willingly face them at the same time? Today it seemed they would find out."
• Forceful Kiss: A non-dark yet dramatic example happens in Chapter 31 of the original. During her prolonged emotional breakdown due to Chloe's severe condition, Olga desperately needs to vent her pain from being powerless to help her servant, and to vent her feelings towards Kyril. Shortly after Kyril gives her a Cooldown Hug to console her, she pulls the man in close and forcefully kisses him. Being caught off guard, Kyril merely stands still. And then Celestine (who, like Olga, harbors feelings towards the man) opens the door and witnesses the action. Cue drama.
• Forever War: Turns out that something like this has been going on for centuries between Celestine and Olga, who used to be close friends with each other. As for why it started in the first place, both of them had come to blows over the fate of humanity. Olga, with a firm belief that Humans Are Bastards, wanted vengeance against humanity for their Fantastic Racism against Dark Elves, as well as the subsequent development of the Dark Elf slave trade. Celestine, however, believes that there was still some good among humanity, so she desperately made efforts in talking her down. They both tried to make peace with each other, but the continued enslavement of the Dark Elves drove Olga to declare war, and Celestine was forced to raise arms against her. In the end, the centuries-old war came to a close when a Bad Moon Rising weakens Olga's Black Magic, in addition to Kyril coming to the picture. As a result, the Black Fortress is open for an attack that lead to Olga's defeat.
• A Form You Are Comfortable With: In order to avert Go Mad from the Revelation, together with concealing the existence of the Eldritch Truth and anything related to Yharnam, the Good Hunter takes the form of a youthful man. Ironically, said "form" is also quite scary and sinister to look at.
• Four-Star Badass: The Good Hunter is a One-Man Army who gets to lead his Men of Sherwood as a result of Asskicking Leads to Leadership, from minor skirmishes to major battles. Despite his introversion, he demonstrates a remarkable talent as a military commander, able to cooperate with the sergeants and the troops to achieve strategic victory.
• Freudian Trio:
  • Celestine (Ego, Reasonable Authority Figure) is torn between her right hand Claudia (Id, Honor Before Reason) and her left hand Kyril (Superego, No-Nonsense Nemesis) respectively.
  • In the first two chapters of the remastered version, Alicia, Kyril and Prim form such a trio. Alicia (Id) aspires and acts like a Knight in Shining Armor. Kyril (Superego) is a Black Knight without the armor and title. Unsurprisingly, the two do not get along, leaving Prim (Ego) to soothe the choler between them.
• From Nobody to Nightmare:
  • Vault, the Big Bad, started out as a mercenary. From the beginning of the story, he has become The Leader and The Ace of the most renowned mercenary group in Eostia, the Black Dogs, but still a mercenary nonetheless. Dissatisfied with his current predicament, he usurps Olga's position as Evil Overlord after storming her castle, in hopes of achieving his dream of a Sex Slave Empire, an ambition that he has been planning for quite some time. To realise said ambition, Vault relights the flames of war by instigating a military coup that leads to much Rape, Pillage, and Burn thanks to various fantasy monsters and the Black Dogs.
  • Shamuhaza was once an acolyte, but has since conditioned to accept the horror of Black Magic. Now, he is an Evil Sorceror who not only works for the Black Dogs, but also delves into the Eldritch Truth, the very same knowledge that Byrgenwerth scholars and the Healing Church once sought for. His pursuit has led to countless Innocent Bystanders experimented on, mutated into horrific husks of their former selves, and impregnated by... whatever that causes them to give birth to monstrosities. With the fortress of Rad twisted into an Eldritch Location, the rest of Eostia is under threat of an Apocalypse How should Shamuhaza continue to live for another minute.
  • Last but not least, Kyril Sutherland. The Good Hunter. Chronologically, he manages to zig-zag this trope. At the beginning of it all, he was the son of a poor farmer. Then Bloodborne happened, and then Kyril was a squid. To keep this concise and more understandable, he went to a town named Yharnam in search for a cure for his illness, as an unarmed outsider. It is how he became an Empowered Badass Normal Hunter of Monsters, slaying beasts and other hunters by the dozens and hundreds, even to the point of punching out at least three great ones. After that, he was somehow transformed into a great one himself, but he managed to avert the Blue-and-Orange Morality that comes with his ascension. Taking a human form, he wandered around the world until his arrival to Eostia, again as a foreign outsider. There, he started out as a regular sellsword, only to kick tons of ass, spill tons of blood, and be knighted as The Dreaded Sir Kyril (the Bloody), infamous for his brutality in the battlefield. He later gets promoted to Lord Executioner after quelling a rebellion with steel and fire, being equivalent to the ruler's left-hand man. The kicker is that the people In-Universe believed that this trope is Played Straight for him once (because Kyril's true nature has yet to be common knowledge), but the readers who have played Bloodborne before will understand that it actually applies to him twice.
• From the Mouths of Babes: Yurie, a Wild One child, has an observation regarding Sanakan and Hugh. In particular, she thinks that Sanakan is a strangely shaped boy that smells like a girl.
  Yurie: You stare too much.
  Sanakan: *scowls* Oh, hush you.
  Yurie: But he boy.
  Sanakan: *Luminescent Blush* Yes, Hugh is a boy. And I'm a girl.
  Yurie: Yes. He boy. You too. But smell like girl.

G

• Gender Is No Object: The military of Eostia makes no gender distinctions whatsoever. Nobody raises an eyebrow when they see male healers, female scouts, and women in command.
• Genius Bruiser:
  • A compulsory trait for any hard-hitting hunter.
    • Just because Kyril is a Lightning Bruiser doesn't mean he goes for the aggressive route every time. From dismantling traps, selecting at most a group of three to take out, to his occasional usage of Shaman Bone Blades, it is evident that stealth and subtlety are also his strengths.
    • Sanakan may be a brash, restless Screaming Warrior, but that doesn't mean she is not capable of eavesdropping before cutting the Gadsden Gang down, as Chapter 7 will tell you.
    • The mute hunter Hugh is known for his exceptional swordsmanship and marksmanship. During the same chapter, he is shown with the ability to pick locks, together with eavesdropping on the Gadsden Gang with Sanakan afterwards.
  • As a group, orcs are considered as this. They look like dumb brutes, but some war bands are capable of showing a degree of cunning that can catch a seasoned knight off guard. Best exemplified by their crude traps and sudden ambushes in the first two chapters of the remastered version.
• Give Me a Reason: Obviously, many dark elves are not happy with Olga sacrificing Loraine to the orcs, which caused untold suffering to the people she was supposed to protect. One of them is Demeter, who is now the leader of a group of those dark elves that are now refugees and liberated slaves. When the two meet, Demeter, becoming impatient, eventually says a variation of this trope to Olga.
  Demeter: Tell me... Your Grace. *clenches fists* What is stopping me from slitting your throat right here and now?
• Glad He's On Our Side: Chapter 6 of the original has Olga saying this to Claudia regarding the Hunter, how lucky they are for the Hunter to fight for them and not against them, after she found out that he possesses "powers beyond their ken".
• Gloomy Gray: Stoic Shell-Shocked Veteran Kyril wears a grey tricorne hat and nondescript clothing, covered by a dark grey longcoat.
• Go Mad from the Revelation: To defy this trope is one of the Good Hunter's primary concerns, which explains a lot of the decisions he makes in the story: why he appears as a human, why he uses his powers as a great one sparingly, and why he would go to great lengths to conceal any knowledge about Yharnam and the Eldritch Truth. It also happens to be a reason why the Hunter is reluctant to interfere with Eostia's affairs at the beginning of the original story, save for hunting down bands of greenskins and bandits. The trope is later invoked on Shamuhaza by releasing a bit of his eldritch might with a mere gaze. Seeing how Shamuhaza ended up, the Hunter has a very strong reason to fear the consequences from letting this trope happen.
• A God I Am Not: Kyril is secretly an Eldritch Abomination, and he once notes that many refugees sought blessings from him. Despite this, he is discomforted of the notion of being godlike, being more concerned about how these people have their once peaceful lives destroyed due to the uprising in the capital.
• Godzilla Threshold: Kyril, to Celestine. Despite having a vision about the Good Hunter ends up either the saviour or destroyer of her land, the latter being the more likely outcome as he is a brutal killer, she has no choice but to call for his assistance, in order to end the war with Olga swiftly.
• Gold-Colored Superiority: In Chapter 30, original version, Kyril has to fight two familiars of Mandeville, depicted as two massive warriors in gold-coloured armour. Unlike a majority of the enemies he slayed, he uses more time and effort against the two.
• Gone Horribly Right: Hoo boy. The assassination attempt on the Good Hunter instead of the Goddess Reborn is an absolute success! Both in killing him (once, that is) and pissing him off. In response, the Good Hunter rewards the assassin handsomely for his Moment of Awesome.
• Good Is Not Nice: Downplayed for Kyril Sutherland. Kyril saves people from the reprehensible, but he isn't the friendliest person around due to his polite, yet detached attitude. Aside from being content with his frightening reputation, he often prioritises his objectives over his relations with others, even using force if necessary. On the bright side, Kyril is neither obnoxious nor sociopathic, and he is less cold to people who prove to be genuinely affable or trustworthy.
• Gorn: As expected for a fanfic rated "Fiction M". In the story, the Hunter habitually obliterates beasts, rapists and slavers by crunching bones, slamming skulls, opening wounds, and spilling brains. The brutality is amped up when he eats a Beast Blood Pellet and starts to inflict explicit trauma at the innards or the genitals. His handiwork is meant to create enjoyment from bathing in the blood of those who deserve to die because of their depraved actions. Even the author admits the guy's dishing out "gratuitous violence" and informs the readers to be prepared for more at the end of Chapter 9.
• Great Escape:
  • Annoyed by Vault seemingly wasting time at the Black Fortress, Kyril decides to bring Olga back to Ken himself without his permission. To do so, he breaks her and Chloe out of prison, while securing the quickest exit of the stronghold thanks to Olga.
  • Chapter 6 of the remastered version, aptly named Escape, expands further on the above. Rather than an on-the-fly decision, the prison break is a more thought-out plan that not only involves the above three, but also several rogue Black Dogs. Here, Kyril knows of Vault's plan for conquest before hand thanks to Soren overhearing his plan, giving him all the more reason to fulfil his mission.
• Great Offscreen War: The Forever War between Celestine Lucross and Olga Discordia. The readers understand why the war broke out and has lasted for centuries (the Fantastic Racism between humanity and dark elves), many Kuroinu-original characters have been either directly involved in or affected by said war one way or another (The Seven Shields, the Black Dogs, Olga, Grace, etc.), and the war itself is still ongoing by the beginning of the fanfic (though at its final stage, since Celestine's vision foretells its end as a result of Kyril's appearance). However, the readers do not see much of the actual war, and Kyril is more of an Outside-Context Problem instead of someone affected by the war, though he does contribute to its end. Several Original Characters, namely Kyril's four apprentices, were not even born at that period. Then again, the main focus of this story is the conflict against the traitorous Black Dogs, not Celestine and Olga's century-old war.
• Grim Up North: Played With. Northern locations are not tundras or snowy mountains, but their environments are still harsher than southern ones.
  • The region to the north of Eostia is Garan. A desolate wasteland, as well as the place where Olga, the Dark Queen of the Black Fortress, gathers her Always Chaotic Evil orcs plus other fantasy monsters to make incursions into the borders of Eostia. Unfortunately, the kingdom cannot retaliate by invading the North due to its harsh conditions providing an excellent natural defence, a bane to any army. It is only due to the advent of the Good Hunter that Celestine finds an invasion to the Black Fortress a viable option. Said harsh conditions also apply to places near or within Garan, like The Badlands and The Dead Marshes^note the latter featured in the remastered version. The atmosphere of the Badlands is said to flip between dry heat and clammy cold, which precipitates the possibility of disease, while the Dead Marshes is a wet and cold marshland, so it's obviously not good due to Swamps Are Evil.
  • Scathlocke is located north of the Fortress City of Ken and serves as a buffer between Garan (see above) and Eostia. Again, rather than a snowy place, it is filled with hilly plains, drizzling rain, and mud, a lot worse in winter. Not the best environment for an army that needs to keep dry and warm.
• Groin Attack: The Hunter kicks a mook in the groin during his killing spree in Chapter 11 of the original. NOT Played for Laughs, for the mook's testicles and pelvis are shattered in the process.
  The pain killed him.
• The Guards Must Be Crazy: Lampshaded by Kyril in Chapter 3, remastered version. As he is walking down the hall to attend a meeting with the Seven Shields, he internally notes that he often takes walks like this during nighttime. He is able to do so without being noticed because, in his words, "sneaking past the guards was a joke".

H

• Half-Human Hybrid: Present in the story as a result of either interspecies breeding (e.g. Chloe; half-human, half-elf) or synthetic transformation (e.g. The Leaping Lizards; half-human, half-insect).
• Handicapped Badass: The Hunter counts as a mental variant rather than the physical variant. He occasionally relieves unwanted memories of him fighting for survival, avoids anything that would trigger said memories (e.g., idleness), and is always on guard for danger, all of which are his struggles with PTSD thanks to his past in Yharnam. The guy has no problem hunting beasts on his lonesome with a heavy serrated cleaver and, rather than being Ax-Crazy as commonly believed, is in fact a very patient, levelheaded man.
• Harem Seeker: Anders Bleu, and presumably many other mercenaries or new recruits of the Black Dogs, count as a negative portrayal of this trope, given that they want to gain as many partners as possible by force if necessary. The narration below explains Anders's motive for joining the Black Dogs' cause.
  Anders Bleu was a Black Dog recruit. Hell yeah he was. If he could take any bitch he pleased then there was no other point in life. He wanted to be a part of the Black Dogs' Sex Empire. He wanted to live like a king. He'd show those bitches just what he was made of.
• Harmful to Minors:
  • Violence of any kind is a constant that the main kid heroes, Sanakan, Hugh and Soren, have witnessed and experienced before meeting Kyril. Chapter 4 has the former two under the predations of the Black Dogs. Sanakan is rounded up for an orgy, while Hugh is Left for Dead and bereft an eye. That is not getting to the nasty stuff they've gone through as street urchins, together with how Hugh got his throat mutilated before the events of the story. Soren, however, has suffered physical abuse by street thugs on a regular basis. Just... ouch. It is when they become Kyril's apprentices that their well-being starts to improve, though their job as hunters means they regularly participate in violence...
  • This trope is all over the place with the description of children being victims of war, rape, and slavery. Evidently, Eostia is not kind to children.
• Hates Baths: Yurie dislikes anything related to baths, like water and soap. May or may not have something to do with her resembling a cat in all but name.
• Hates Small Talk: The task-oriented Kyril Sutherland isn't a conversationalist. He dislikes small talk, parties, or wasteful diffidence that have nothing to do with the current task at hand (though he would do it if the task requires him to). In the later parts of the original version, Character Development kicks in as he gets a bit more comfortable doing small talk with his employer Celestine and his retainer Grace after working together with them throughout the story.
• He Who Fights Monsters: By the time the story reached the Rebel Scum Arc, a major point of discussion is whether Kyril's morally questionable methods in the war effort, such as executing prisoners who surrendered beforehand, and quelling the rebellion in Ken by force, makes him no different than the Black Dogs he is fighting against. Particularly, Claudia believes that not only does he play this trope straight, his actions would risk tarnishing Celestine's reputation as The High Queen. Even those who back Kyril's approach, like Alicia and Lily, have admitted that they would not defend his actions. Nonetheless, the narrative makes it clear why this trope will never happen to Kyril. Unlike the Black Dogs, Kyril and his followers have never raped, enslaved, or experimented on innocent bystanders. Instead, his objectives are to Make an Example of Them and to swiftly prevent the escalating war from continuing to devastate the populace, however questionable those methods may be. Furthermore, Kyril knows all too well what this trope entails during his Dark and Troubled Past, having witnessed his fellow Hunters gradually and literally becoming as bloodthirsty as the beasts they hunt. His conclusion? In the face of an uncompromising threat, Violence is the Only Option, because the people who suffer because of said threat are the ones that matter. For a last touch of irony, Kyril Sutherland Was Once a Man, transformed into an eldritch entity, yet demonstrates such self-discipline that no inhuman being can ever reach.
• Heartwarming Orphan: Readers are expected to sympathize with Sanakan and Hugh, Street Urchins barely noticed by peasant or noble who are exposed to the Rape, Pillage, and Burn brought by the Black Dogs. There's also Soren, who resorted to thievery as a means to support the Orphanage of Love. Throughout the story, the three of them are apprenticed by the anti-heroic Kyril as a way to soften him, and they all become Kid Heroes in their own right.
• Hellish Pupils: In Chapter 8 of the original, right after probing a mook's mind with his tendrils, Kyril's pupils turn into slits as he regards the guards approaching him, clearly intending to walk through what's left of them.
• Hero with Bad Publicity:
  • Subverted for The Dreaded Anti-Hero, Kyril Sutherland. He believes himself to be an object of ill repute, often internally noting the way people stare at him and how his actions irk most of the nobility. In reality, he is lionised by the common folk and his soldiers. Moreover, his reputation among the knights and the nobility turns out to be more divisive than outright hated. Roland's narration sheds light on this.
    Kyril Sutherland was a divisive figure amongst the nobility, compared to the common folk who lionized the man. Some nobles thought him an upstart, a foreigner with the ear of the Goddess Reincarnated herself? That was unthinkable in and of itself. Especially since he was also a staunch ally of the former Dark Queen, Olga Discordia who was once the Goddess's greatest enemy and someone not to be trusted.
    
    His brutal countenance and refusal to uphold the ideals of Chivalry was also a contentious issue for many knights. Few dared to openly challenge him, for it was said that Kyril Sutherland could sense malice of any sort. The fact that he had also bested Claudia Levantine, who was Ken's strongest knights was also something that mitigated the nobility's ire towards the man. He got results, that was all that mattered to most of them.
  • Kyril briefly discusses this trope during his conversation with Shalala regarding his reputation.
    Shalala: Many look up to you as a savior, Sir Kyril.
    Kyril: And others look down upon me as a mad dog held to Celestine's side by a leash. I'd prefer it that way actually, it's easier to move.
• Heroic BSoD: An experience many characters go through in the story.
  • It is implied that Kyril suffered from this more than once during his time in Yharnam. Not only did he experience the violence and horrors that would drive a lesser person insane, but he also had to witness all the sane people he met die one by one until only himself remains. He eventually conditions himself to accept horror.
  • The last third of Chapter 5 features Celestine and Olga taking a peek at Kyril's journal, which, unbeknownst to them, is actually an Artifact of Doom. Breakdowns ensue, with Celestine eventually crying Broken Tears and Olga ends up Laughing Mad. Though the latter quickly pulls herself together, slams the journal shut, and bolts out of the room with Celestine.
  • In Chapter 7, the Prison Rape scene in the dungeons causes Harriet to drop her sword in terror, later struggling to regain her focus.
  • As Lily is recovering in a tent after Feoh has been reclaimed, she breaks down sobbing and pulls her hair as she relives the time where she and her fellow sisters are raped in the dungeons. It is also where she starts having a Crisis of Faith.
  • Celestine is rather prone to this than any other character in the story.
    • She falls ill and her room is a mess due to being plagued by maddening whispers and hallucinations after reading Kyril's journal, a side effect of absorbing Insight^note the more it is absorbed, the higher the possibility of going bonkers. Luckily, she gets better after unwittingly stumbling upon the Hunter's Dream and meeting the Doll.
    • Celestine has a mild one after setting off to a healer's tent of a refugee camp and attempting to use Healing Hands to save a patient, to no avail. She decides to take a break outside when the atmosphere of the tent is getting to her, reflecting on how the war against the Black Dogs, as well as the current rebellion in the capital, is taking its toll on her and the others.
    • Celestine does not take it well upon witnessing Kyril getting shot in front of her, then rising Back from the Dead seconds later. She is so shocked that the only thing she can do is hyperventilate while sinking to her knees. This has persisted for 2 chapters, in spite of her apparent recovery after the incident, to the point where she presses herself onto his chest after he is summoned. Still owing answers to Celestine (and Olga, who is also present), he reluctantly pulls out his journal for the Internal Reveal the readers have been waiting for... and things get worse for the two.
  • In Chapter 30 of the original, Olga falls into a disheveled state, staring blindly ahead while swirling her fifth wineglass. The reason is that her loyal servant and Living Emotional Crutch Chloe is currently in an unresponsive state, and it is unknown whether she will make it or not.
  • Remastered version:
    • Alicia has one after her Heroic Safe Mode is triggered by an orc ambush in Chapter 2. Filled with shock, grief and hate, she becomes unfocused, her voice hollow, and pauses more often in her speech. She is still a bit shaken even after regaining function as her remaining crew arrive to Ken.
    • Alicia goes through another one at the end of Chapter 12. During Kyril's Trial by Combat, she finds herself tossed aside as she witnesses Maia being sent flying. She tries to get back up, only to freeze at the sight of Kyril standing in front of her, his thick cleaver on top of her head like a guillotine. The only things that matters to Alicia is the serrated blade, as well as the Hunter's glare.
      Her eyes widened as she faced the cleaver, looking dully into the serrated blade. She couldn't hear Claudia shouting for the match to cease, or for Celestine pleading for him to stop. Was this how it ended? She was going to die? How?
    • Maia and Alicia respectively are clearly not in a good shape after their defeat in the hands of Kyril, the latter clearly not gotten over her BSoD as described above. Maia's BSoD swings between lashing out towards anyone in her vicinity, and shedding Broken Tears in her quarters. Her state is worsened by the double blows of Vault, the man she is in love with, being revealed as a traitor and being dead. As for Alicia, Celestine's POV observes that she is "a little better" due to how collected she is than her more fiery counterpart. False. Alicia's BSoD continues due to having her pride shattered by being unharmed during the fight (as if Kyril doesn't even bother her presence). She also really, really doesn't take as well after being called a "weakling". Enraged, she takes it out on Soren, leaving him unconscious.
• Heroic Safe Mode:
  • Kyril is capable of manifesting signs of this trope in a less extreme way, hardly surprising for an experienced Shell-Shocked Veteran who persevered the Night of the Hunt by being Conditioned to Accept Horror. The following are two of the best instances that showcase this.
    • Chapter 16, original version: As Kyril and his apprentices (minus Soren) are fending off the myriad of mutants, the readers get a glimpse of Kyril's P.O.V. regarding how he feels about killing these Elite Mooks who are Tortured Monsters at the same time. On one hand, he regrets having arrived late to spare them of such a fate. However, he opts to focus on the task at hand, leaving the Mangst after the fighting.
    • Chapter 2, remastered version: In the face of an orc ambush, Kyril is surprised, yet doesn't shrink from the sudden assault. Instead, he immediately extends his Saw Cleaver, not even thinking of drawing anything else, and surges forward in a lone counter charge to cut down the orcs. The action is so sudden that it looks like a Leeroy Jenkins from an outsider's perspective, except that he can react to sudden situations that fast. This is not getting to how he remains expressionless even when bodies around him are being mangled and maimed by his cleaver, as well as how he merely looks around for any remaining threats with a Death Glare after the ambush is over.
  • During Chapter 2 of the remastered version, Alicia enters a "fight or flight" mode as she and her knights are met with an orc ambush. After the ambush is over courtesy of Kyril slaying orc after orc, she reboots from this mode and suffers a Heroic BSoD, slowly registering the grim situation around her: Kyril's butchery, as well as the fact that only a handful out of twenty of her knights survived the encounter.
• Heroism Motive Speech: When Kyril is telling his apprentices Sanakan and Hugh why he took the two of them in, he gives a speech about why he wants to help Eostia's people and fight the Black Dogs.
  Kyril: When I came here, I wanted nothing to do with the war. All I had wanted was to be left alone so I could suffer my memories in solitude. Until I learned what Vault planned for every single man, woman and child. The women and children slaves and men who resisted his regime dead or dying. Yharnam was dead long before I came here. Eostia is war-torn but she still has a chance for peace.
  [Beat]
  Kyril: If I stood by and allowed an evil man to cause harm to a nation that has done nothing to deserve its fate then it is right that I bear the shame of doing nothing. I won't stand by and do nothing in Eostia. I will fight no matter the cost, so that others may live in peace. And when I do, maybe I shall finally lay down my blades and fade away.
  [Beat]
  Kyril: Perhaps I came here for a change. Perhaps I decided to lend my strength to those who needed it. But either way, I am your mentor and you are my students. I wish to give you power so you can do good.
• Hey, You!: How does Alicia address Kyril during the entirety of Chapter 1 of the remastered version? "You there! The one in the hat!", "You there, mercenary!", "mercenary", and "that man". Her two seconds, Vera and Kendra, call him "cur", "the man", and "stranger". It shows how cordial their relationship is.
  • Speaking of Alicia, she never refers to Kyril by name throughout the remastered version.
• Hidden Depths:
  • Kyril Sutherland, the Good Hunter. People in general know him as a morose, brutal, ruthless, remorseless '90s Anti-Hero who only knows of dealing death. The reality: he's more of a Consummate Professional than a Blood Knight, and his numbing of violence is a coping mechanism. Fighting isn't all that he is capable of — he's also a Cultured Badass, a Genius Bruiser, a Mentor in Sour Armor with four Talented, but Trained apprentices, and a Four-Star Badass of military acumen. Despite being a great one in secret, he's nonetheless committed to retaining his sense of reason, holding off the bulk of his power so that no innocents would be driven mad, and burying the secrets related to Yharnam in order to avert another Beast Plague. To top it off with a small hobby, Kyril visits the gravestones strewn in his Pocket Dimension, caring for them whenever he is troubled.
  • The Hot-Blooded Screaming Warrior Sanakan occasionally shows a streak of Genius Bruiser via her scouting and eavesdropping skills. Surprisingly, she has yet to pull a Leeroy Jenkins and screw everyone over.
  • Grace is a Fan Service With A Smile, which seems unimportant at first glance. Kyril would later find use for her as a retainer, responsible for paperwork, gathering information, and observing the nobility and The Church to find signs of treachery.
  • When Lily is not performing her duty as Combat Medic and apprentice hunter, she notably demonstrates a degree of political savviness by hiding the List of Names, a record for every transaction the Merchant's Guild has made with its associates, from the others in order to avert a potential scandal.
  • Evetta is established as Kyril's Best Friend, confidant, and Living Emotional Crutch. It is of no surprise that several people who have met her before (e.g. Celestine, Olga, Grace) dread the scenario where a hair is bent out of shape on her head. She would later prove that their worries are unfounded by taking care of three traitorous guards with her mind.
• History Repeats: Anyone with an inkling of what Bloodborne is about would understand that Shamuhaza is not the first person/party to seek the Eldritch Truth and tamper with the Great Ones — the Byrgenwerth College, the Healing Church, and their derivatives did that before in Yharnam for the sake of ascension, even to the point of performing horrific experiments on its citizens. For the latter case, the result is that Yharnam has fallen to the Beast Plague, ruined beyond repair like Loran and Pthumeru before it. When Kyril, his three apprentices, and his company arrive to the fortress city of Rad, now collapsed, he bitterly admits that it is too late for the people of Rad, as it was same for Yharnam... except he has a chance to stop this at the source, to make sure that this fate, together with a potential Beast Plague, will never befall Eostia and its people. He succeeds in the end.
  "History would not repeat itself here, Kyril swore that would not happen. That was his duty as the First Hunter. He would not fail here."
• Hobbits: Half-lings in this setting are what happens when Cutesy Dwarves, and this trope are mixed together in a pot. The half-ling fighters are tiny, fierce, and have a rudimentary resistance to magic.
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • Vault wants to have Kyril by his side for his dream of a Sex Empire to come to fruition, so he offers Kyril to join him. Vault is hit hard by this in both versions of the story, either creating his biggest obstacle for his conquest (original), or outright leading to his demise (remastered).
  • Shamuhaza does research on the Black Dogs' behalf via Black Magic and Playing with Syringes. He eventually experiments on Morgan and the Leaping Lizards, something that Vault admits to have ruined things between the Lizards and the Dogs. Now that his plans are delayed further by "a crazy man who had decided to off one of his contacts", Vault lampshades that the situation is not worsened at the very least, since Shamuhaza had not made it to Ken, the capital of Eostia, which would've caused as much havoc as he did in Rad.
• Hold the Line:
  • During the battle of Nellos Watch Tower, an Offscreen Moment of Awesome that happened between Chapter 3 and 4 of the original, twenty Red Shirts had to defend their outpost an orc war band led by the Black Dogs, with fifty in numbers. These Red Shirts successfully held them off until reinforcements arrive, said reinforcements include Kyril, Claudia, and company.
  • A villainous example occurs in Chapter 26, where the rebels under Grishom's command hold off the Eostian forces to defend him and his cathedral. From Grishom's narration, he's expecting Mandeville to support him any time soon, but in reality, this scenario would not even be an Instant-Win Condition, if one considers that they are fighting against Sir Kyril the Bloody. To add insult to injury, Kyril and his company deployed a tactic of setting the cathedral aflame to smoke the rebels out, only for them to be trapped within the cordon of Eostian forces. It goes without saying that the rebels are screwed in the end, with no reinforcements to save them.
• Hollywood Tactics: Zig-zagged.
  • Cover, discipline, strategy, supplies, surprise, tactics, terrain, and training all play an important role in warfare. This is a Low Fantasy series after all. The fact that Kyril's company heavily and repeatedly emphasise these elements is what makes them the Men of Sherwood.
  • In contrast, the Black Dogs demonstrate military incompetence during pivotal moments, which sows the seeds of their defeat. It doesn't help that a large portion of their forces are made up of an assortment of Dumb Muscle mooks (e.g. orcs, mutants, etc.). The following blunders are the most notable:
    • So the Black Dog forces succeed in taking over a village in Chapter 4. Great! They then proceed to enjoy their fruits of victory via Rape, Pillage, and Burn, with special mention for the first part. No wonder they do not expect an attack at night. The moment they start to put their pants on and grab a weapon, Kyril and Maia's forces have already crashed through the gate to reclaim their territory.
    • In Chapter 11, judging from Sanakan's slightly surprised reaction upon witnessing the orcs in front of her forming battle lines, one can make a reasonable inference that the orcs don't do this often, primitive as they are.
    • The Rad and Leaping Lizards arcs feature monsterous mutants as Elite Mooks. Alas, their bestial intelligence means that the best they could do is a disorganised charge at the enemy.
• Home Sweet Home: The Good Hunter has repeatedly expressed his desire to purchase a piece of farmland, lay down his blades and live the rest of his life in peace after the war is over. The remastered version takes this trope to another level: not only does he desire to live in peace, he also wants to bring the Workshop in the Hunter's Dream to life.
• Hope Is Scary: The Hunter considers hope to be "the most fatal of poisons". Doesn't stop him from prosecuting his duty.
• Hope Spot: In the original version, this is invoked by Kyril and his forces a couple of times. It seems that they are familiar with The Art of War.
  • Featured in Chapter 15, the retaking of Tarsus, an old mining town in Rad ends with twenty or more Black Dogs fleeing into the mines. Kyril, Alaric, and company promptly seal every other exit of the mines except one, so as to kill anyone who finds this one exit.
  • How do they triumph against Grishom and the remaining rebel forces, putting an end to the rebellion at last in Chapter 26? The Plan is that Bergen and his company would create a cordon to surround the cathedral where Grishom and his men are residing, so as to prevent them from escaping. To lure them out, Soren and the mages would be responsible for setting the cathedral on fire. After that, the rebels would be flushed into an escape route, only to be dispatched by Kyril and the heavy hitters. In the end, the tactic is such a success that Sun Tzu would be proud.
• Hostage Situation: A number of nuns are taken hostage by the Black Dogs, who lay down their terms of condition: either Alicia surrenders Feoh and Ur to the Black Dogs, with Prime Minister Beasley in control, or be Forced to Watch the nuns getting raped in front of her. Alicia decides to surrender in hopes of them keeping their word... which proves to be disastrous. Not only this results in an easy takeover of the fortresses, the nuns end up getting locked up in Feoh's dungeons, ravaged by red demons. Moreover, Beasley and the Mortadella brothers have captured her and Prim, who can only wait for Kyril and his company to bail them out.
• Hot in Human Form: Kyril Sutherland. Tall, Dark, and Handsome in human form. His true form, however...
• Human Pincushion: More like "Orc Pincushions". Hugh's debut with the Simon's Bowblade features him sitting on the edge of a well, surrounded by orc corpses riddled with arrows. Not a single orc managed to get within fifty paces of him before becoming a pincushion.
• Human Sacrifice: In the church of Oren, an unnamed female villager had been used as a ritual sacrifice by a group of goblins before Hugh's arrival.
• Human Shield: Or rather, Mook Shield.
  • During the orc ambush in Chapter 2 of the remastered version, Kyril grabs an orc's wrist, then swings it around, right into the path of an axe of another mook.
  • After killing an orc in Chapter 5 of the remastered version, Kyril shoves the body forward to block the incoming spear points.
• Human Trafficking: Well, more like dark-elf trafficking, but the concept is the same — the end of Chapter 24 has Kyril unveiling one of House Mandeville's plots. After finding a key by chance, he used it to unlock one of the crates nearby. It turns out that there are dark-elf slaves stuffed inside the crates, ready to be transported to the north for Vault's taking.
• Humanity Is Superior: Defied by Kyril, who cared nothing for the supposed "purity" of the human race. His P.O.V. notes, "That kind of talk had no place in his company. Anyone who believed otherwise was free to leave."
• Humans Are Flawed: Regarding the topic of human nature, Kyril refrains from taking the two extremes, believing that humanity has the potential to commit both great good and deep evil.
• Humans Are Special:
  • Inverted. By using the human fantasy race as a benchmark and comparing it to other Standard Fantasy Races, it is evident that they are portrayed as "humans but slightly different" provided that they are not The Horde (e.g. orcs, goblins, etc.). In particular, elves are "humans but Long-Lived and with Pointy Ears", while Half-lings are "short humans that look like petting zoo people". Fitting for a Low Fantasy setting populated by humans or non-humans who are not The Horde.
  • From Kyril's perspective, this trope implies that humanity in general sees themselves as "pure" and "superior" compared to other races, even developing Delusions of Grandeur and invincibility, to the point where they forget they are mortal like the others. It is all too easy to show them how "human"^note meaning flawed, mortal, and vulnerable they are by brandishing a weapon, and the facade fades quickly.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters:
  • Olga and Chloe believe wholeheartedly that every human is only capable of great evil, due to the Fantastic Racism dark elves faced, together with their subsequent enslavement in Eostia. To say that they are not happy about relying on Kyril, a human (well, humanoid, actually), for their Great Escape is certainly an understatement.
  • Discussed in Chapter 7 of the remastered version as Kyril questions Olga on whether her hatred of humanity due to her belief of this trope "makes her special".
    Kyril: She hates humanity, just as much as you do. Tell me... do you think that makes you special?
    Olga: Are you mocking me?
    Kyril: A good person would have told you that not all humans are like that. A wiser person would say that humanity has the greatest capacity to do great good and deep evil.
    Olga: Great good does not involve enslaving others to use as toys. Great good does not excuse the hundreds of years that humanity has done harm upon my people.
    Kyril: And so that does not excuse them fighting back?
  • Also a prevalent view amongst Wild Ones, the tribes who have lived here before the Eostians took over and forced them out of their homes. At present, many of them find themselves on the receiving end of the Leaping Lizards, who are human slavers.
• Hungry Weapon:
  • Hugh's Chikage is a non-malicious example. The katana feeds on the blood of victims when its blood rite is activated. After his "duel" with Michelle Pantielle, the narration notes that the Chikage "seemed to be disappointed in this wasteful offering", though it is unknown whether it can feel things or not.
  • In a case of Shrouded in Myth, Kyril's Saw Cleaver drinks the blood of the traitors and faithless, as the legends say.

I

• I Am a Monster: Kyril downplays this — he considers himself a monster, but he has yet to reach a Despair Event Horizon because of this (or at least, the story doesn't show it). Given that he emerged from his Dark and Troubled Past in Yharnam as a sentient killing machine and an Eldritch Abomination who manages to retain his sense of reason and change into a human form, this attitude is justified. With that being said, he doesn't mind or blame anyone seeing him as a monster (the more people fear him, the better), and he strives to be mindful not to devolve into the very beasts he slew.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: The Good Hunter is an ultra-aggressive attacker that can heal up quickly, and he cannot die. How much stronger can this guy get? Aside from his Beast Blood Pellet power-up, it turns out that his human vessel is just a mask for his nature as a great one, which, like any horror found in a Cosmic Horror Story, is the harbinger of many horrible things. Thankfully, he manages to avert the Blue-and-Orange Morality that comes with it, but that would mean that he fears the consequences of going all out. The one time Kyril slips off his mortal mask just a tiny bit is when his two apprentices get injured from fighting One-Winged Angel Shamuhaza. The fight ends immediately because he gets Mind Raped by glimpsing what is behind Kyril's mask. There is a reason why he has yet to show off his full power or true form in the series. Never has holding back and then taking one's power up a notch this exaggerated before.
• "I Can't Look!" Gesture: After rescuing a group of nuns in the Feoh dungeons from their Prison Rape, Kyril's gaze avoids the victims, noting in his P.O.V. that he couldn't bear looking at them due to their current state. Subverted later as the leader of the nuns, Lily, limps her way towards him to thank him. Calm, yet furious, Kyril regards her with a blank look, and asks for Beasley's location so he can take care of him personally.
• I Don't Like the Sound of That Place:
  • On the way to the capitol, Kyril and the others have to trek through the Badlands, where the wildlife (if there is any at all) is hostile, inedible and steeped with Black Magic.
  • In the remastered version, there is a location in Garan named the Dead Marshes. The party finds themselves Mucking in the Mud and have to fend off hostile wraiths (the "dead" part). Goes on to show that Swamps Are Evil.
  • The Malys^note pronounced "malice" Estate once belonged to the Malys clan — paranoid, infamous nobles who were put to the sword by Eostia's rulers. It is rumoured to be haunted by the evil spirits of the destroyed clan. At present, Kyril and his company head towards the estate in hopes of hunting down Evil Sorcerer Shamuhaza, only to be greeted by people fused with insects and other creepy crawlies, which are not any better than ghosts. The estate turns out to be a dimension-expanding, weirdness-inducing Eldritch Location.
• I Gave My Word: Kyril in Chapter 2, when he promises Olga that as long as she surrenders her weapon, she will be imprisoned, but treated with utmost respect. Besides, she will also be brought to Celestine unharmed. Although this implies that the promise would expire as long as she is back to Ken, the "keep Olga unharmed" part persists for as long as Chapter 30, where Kyril even calls it an oath he would never rescind.
  • This promise is not present in the remastered version, however.
• I Have Many Names:
  • Kyril is generally referred to as (the) Hunter or (the) Good Hunter. Aside from taking up his mentor Gehrman's mantle as the First Hunter, Kyril has gained a number of titles throughout the story, including: (Sir) Kyril the Bloody, the Saint of Killers, The Reaper, Bloody Left Hand of the Goddess, and Lord Executioner.
  • Olga from the remastered version has more titles than her original counterpart. Her titles typically allude to her status as queen (e.g. the Dark Queen, Ruler of the Dark Elves, etc.). The remastered version gives her additional titles (Witch-Queen of the Dark Elves, Mistress of a Thousand Curses, Holder of Haughty Garan's Jagged Crown, etc.).
  • The Rat from the remastered version is known as "Lord of Plagues", "King-Spawn of All Vermin", "He Who Feasts On Ambition", "Eater of Men", and "Foul Taskmaster", according to Celestine. In what means did he obtain these titles is currently unknown. Lampshaded by The Rat itself, who admits that it cannot keep track of his many names, and Kyril, who assumes that "The Rat" is just a made-up name.
• I Have No Son!: Michelle is disowned by his father Michael for dishonouring the Pantielle family name, as well as losing patience with his son after he caused a commotion with Maia during the party in Chapter 5 of the original. Michelle then ruins part of the Pantielle estate, steals the ancestral sword, and runs off to Ansur as retaliation, in hopes of fulfilling his wish of having Maia via joining the Black Dogs.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Exaggerated. After being captured by the Black Dogs, Maia is given to Fat Bastard Michelle by her former comrade Vault to do as he pleases. As Kyril advances further into the mercenary compound to rescue her, he finds a half-undressed Michelle with Maia restrained on the bed, clothing torn, indicating he raped her offscreen. Knowing that he has arrived late, the least he could do is to subdue Michelle and preserve Maia's remaining modesty by unbinding her and wrapping her up with a blanket.
• I Just Want to Be Badass: Portrayed in a simple, positive manner.
  • After being rescued by Kyril, Sanakan and Hugh ask him to help them become stronger. They would then become his apprentices to spar and train hard, Taking a Level in Badass in the end, with more than enough power to murder dozens of greenskins and bandits.
  • This trope is how Lily felt back when she was rescued by Kyril from her Prison Rape. She hated herself for being powerless, and thus wanted to train under the Hunter, to prove herself worthy. Her hard work pays off in the end, and as of now, Lily is glad to possess the skills needed to defend the weak.
• I Lied: During the Feoh/Ur Arc, Alicia gives in to the Black Dogs' terms of surrender in hopes of freeing a number of captive nuns from their Hostage Situation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they do not keep their word.
• I Regret Nothing: Not alright said verbatim, but the context remains.
  • Kyril does not regret living his life as a Hunter of beasts who walks a lonely, bitter path instead of reciprocating the romantic affections of those who love him (i.e., being a Celibate Hero). He internally remarks, "He wouldn't have it any other way."^note i.e., he would not want the situation to be different, even though it may have problems connected with it.
  • When asked by Vault regarding his first kill in the remastered version, Kyril describes how the farmer that would become his first kill tried to kill him, only to be Gutted Like a Fish. Then he killed his friends as well. Ultimately, he feels nothing for the beasts he slew — they weren't the first, and certainly won't be the last.
• I Shall Taunt You: Done to Morgan by Kyril in Chapter 8, remastered version, who grabs Grace in the forearm and pulls her in close to him. As Morgan intends to claim ownership of Grace beforehand, this predictably attracts his attention because the two seem close. Kyril would then have an excuse to get rid of Morgan, which is what happens in Bar Brawl Cock Fights anyways.
• I Should Have Been Better:
  • Chapter 17 of the original deals with the aftermath of the Rad Arc, which, in stricter terms, is far from a victory. Therefore, it is to be expected that a number of characters express this sentiment. They express regret about the things they should have done for a better outcome, and, in response, some of the others would reassure them that they did well nonetheless. This trope is all over the place in this chapter.
  • After receiving thanks from the village leader of Idoun in Chapter 1, remastered version, Alicia regrets that she still failed to rescue two others from the now-destroyed orc band, stating that it was her fault for not doing enough.
• I Surrender, Suckers: A thug hurriedly obeys Lily's order to sheath his weapon, only for him to try to grab her. It doesn't work, and the thug has his guts slammed by the pommel of her Church Pick.
• I Want My Mommy!:
  • A dramatic instance is when Anders Bleu, a Black Dog recruit who joined the group to get a harem, screams for his mother as the Hunter tears out his insides in the back. Clearly portrayed as a Mook Horror Show.
  • Stabbed in the gut, Michelle Pantielle writhes on the ground and screams for his mother just before he gets silenced by Hugh during his Trial by Combat. The reason why this instance is more comedic than dramatic is that Michelle is an Asshole Victim suffering an Undignified Death.
• I Warned You: In Chapter 5 of the remastered version, Kyril sends a chilling one to Olga after she tries to burn him to a crisp rather than heed his warning of surrender. Unsurprisingly, he no-sells it, and a Curb-Stomp Battle ensues.
• I Will Tear Your Arms Off: In Chapter 7 of the remastered version, Kyril calmly threatens Chloe this to discipline her, and to dissuade her from pulling a dagger to do something stupid.
  Kyril: I sincerely hope you don't try anything. Unless you would like me to relieve you of your hands...
• If I Wanted You Dead...: Two cases in the remastered version.
  • Inverted at the end of Chapter 6. Olga realises that Kyril could've easily one-shotted her back in their duel, just like how he does to Vault with that star missile magic she has never seen before.
  • Present at the end of Chapter 12 in Kyril's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to the Seven Shields. In response to the accusation that he is conspiring against the crown, he states that he could've severed Celestine's head while no one would be able to stop him. Moreover, the reason why no one is dead is because he has business to attend to, and they are all Not Worth Killing.
• Ignore the Fanservice: In the original version, Shani attempts to seduce Kyril twice by showing skin. Kyril, on the other hand, merely focuses on conversing and is disinterested in her advances. As expected of a Celibate Hero who won't react when interacting with Ms Fanservices.
• I'll Kill You!:
  • Olga swears "I'll kill you all!" when she, along with Chloe, is about to be imprisoned by Kyril and the Black Dogs in Chapter 5, remastered version.
  • In both versions of the story, Kyril tells Vault, who just offered him a Last-Second Chance to join him, "I'm going to kill you, Vault." Unlike the original, he really means it when he says this.
  • In Chapter 30 of the original, Chloe to her father Mandeville, after being chained to a wall, tortured for a long while. It is heavily implied that she gets her vengeance later on.
    Chloe: I will kill you, wretch. I swear I will kill you. It won't matter how long you put me up there.
• I'm Not Here to Make Friends: Focused on the mission of bringing Olga to Celestine, this is the Hunter's attitude during his journey to the Black Fortress alongside the Black Dogs. To him, the Black Dogs would either become corpses or potential enemies, so there's no point in befriending them.
• Imaginary Love Triangle:
  • Michelle thinks that he's competing with Kyril over Maia, regardless of how Kyril and Maia's relationship is merely professional.
  • During Chapter 8, remastered version, Kyril pulls off a Batman Gambit in order to invoke the trope; he makes Morgan think that he wants to engage in a Cock Fight with Morgan over Grace by grabbing her by the forearm and pulling her to him close.
• Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: For arrows/bolts, not bullets.
  • In chapter 6 of the original, goblin archers attempt to ambush Kyril's company by firing arrows from above, but they fail to hit anyone (or if they do, they don't hit anyone important enough for the narrative to show it). The reason is that their targets are shown taking cover, and that the goblins' arrows are simply inaccurate. Another moment is where Sanakan moves out of cover under Kyril's orders, and reaches the gates unharmed while the rest follow her advance, also unharmed.
  • In the very same chapter, Kyril and his two apprentices find themselves ambushed by Beasley's guards within the fortress of Feoh. There are at least two archers taking potshots at the three from a scaffolding, but their arrows never hit. The closest they can get is an arrow that flies past Hugh's ear. Then again, the three hunters have Super-Reflexes and are not stationary targets.
  • Subverted in Chapter 11 of the original, where Kyril is shown being hit by crossbow bolts. From how he has to use a Blood Vial to heal himself, it shows that he did take damage from them.
• Impromptu Tracheotomy:
  • Original version:
    • Chapter 2: A Black Dog merc comes to exchange shifts with the Hunter, only to be responded with a throwing knife to the throat.
    • Chapter 20: Hugh is told that he beat his record by shooting one of the Leaping Lizard slavers in the throat with an arrow from a mile away.
    • Chapter 29: Soren stabs a mook in the throat to bypass the defence provided by the man's shield and armour.
  • Remastered version:
    • Chapter 4: Kyril uses his off hand to punch a greenskin in the throat, so powerful that its windpipe is crushed from the impact.
• In the End, You Are on Your Own: Briefly discussed during Chapter 12 of the remastered version, per the following exchange between Kyril and the Rat.
  The Rat: Are you ready? You will be fighting this war... well, mostly alone.
  Kyril: It hasn't changed from my past. So what was the point of asking?
  The Rat: I did say I was going to support my investment, boy. Your first concern will be the Trial by Combat.
  Kyril: That's not an issue.
  The Rat: I have no doubt about that.
• Insectoid Aliens: A portion of artificial mutants under Shamuhaza's creation are "men fused with insects and other creepy crawlies", with bug heads, wings, stingers, and all. Durable, quick, and numerous, they are more formidable than the average mook. It is worth mentioning that some of them had their formerly human heads replaced by a bunch of eyes and stingers, uncannily resembling the Garden of Eyes from Bloodborne.
  • Even Shamuhaza himself gets turned into an arthropod as One Wing Angel.
• Insecure Love Interest: A Played With example in terms of Kyril Sutherland. He shuns romance, but he knows what his female admirers want from him (making him the Love Interest), as if they haven't made it clear to him. Yharnam has left him so broken that he would laugh at the possibility of having the affections of another good, or even better person. The "insecure" part also extends to non-romantic relationships as well, from how Kyril outright says the laconic version of this trope to the Doll, word for word.
• Internal Reveal: Readers who have already played Bloodborne or studied its lore will surely know Kyril's whole journey in Yharnam before setting foot to Eostia. Certain characters, however, eventually catch a glimpse of his past and true character.
  • Chapter 5 has Celestine and Olga taking a peek at Kyril's journal. The journal shows several segments of Kyril's journey in Yharnam: a death by a mob, his first visit to the Hunter's Dream, the deaths of almost everyone he met, parts of his journey in the Hunter's Nightmare, and his final parting words before meeting Gehrman under the great tree.
  • Being an apprentice to Kyril means they get to learn something about him that the readers already know about, albeit not everything. By Chapter 5, Kyril had already told Sanakan and Hugh about how he became a hunter by signing a contract, referring to the opening cutscene of the game. He is seen reenacting the tradition to the two so they can officially serve him under his command. By Chapter 7, they had learnt about the horrible job of a hunter, the origin of the beast plague, and the implication that Kyril is not human, albeit his exact nature is still unknown to them.
  • Celestine and Olga would eventually learn about the existence of the Hunter's Dream, as well as Kyril's companionship with the Doll, in Chapter 7 and 12 respectively. At this moment, both decided it is in their best interests to not pry any further.
  • In Chapter 28, Kyril reveals to Claudia about what he did before coming to Eostia, namely, spending a horrible amount of time killing off mobs of insane villagers and nearly dying, while seeing many people torn apart by beasts and other horrible things... which is exactly what the game is all about.
  • Starting from Chapter 32, the fact that Kyril experienced his first death meant that Celestine, Olga, and the assassin responsible knew about his Resurrective Immortality.
  • Chapter 33 has Kyril showing Celestine and Olga more segments of the Night of the Hunt: his battle against a Cleric Beast, the opening cutscene of the game, his first death, his journey through the Forbidden Woods and Byrgenwerth, the descent of the pale moon, and lastly, the Workshop burning.
• Intrigued by Humanity: Inverted for Kyril. Once a man, he is now a great one who appears as a human to communicate with others normally. Rather than seeing humanity in general as fun, fascinating or admirable, Kyril believes that humans tend to have Delusions of Grandeur and invincibility, due to perceiving themselves as "pure" and special, in spite of the fact that they bleed like the rest. It's all the more surprising when he nevertheless decides to combat the people's own failings to help them.
• Irony:
  • Kyril fights against the Black Dogs, a PMC group that aims to subjugate the current regime to build a Sex Empire, where every man can "live like kings" while the women are enslaved, or metaphorically, "waiting to be used like dolls". Meanwhile, Kyril has a living doll who never strays from his side.
  • Kyril, who feels perturbed when anyone refers to him as a lord even though he isn't, eventually gets promoted to Lord Executioner.
  • Several characters, Kyril himself included, often note how tired and weary the man is. He is also The Sleepless and a workaholic, not to mention his incredible stamina.
  • Chloe's P.O.V. in the remastered version takes note of the orcs ready for battle. The very same orcs who have dwindled the number of dark elf soldiers are currently on the same side as the dark elves. Both Chloe and her liege lady Olga are aware of this, and they are definitely not happy about it.
• "It" Is Dehumanizing:
  • Kyril gives a friendly reminder while introducing the Plain Doll to Olga.
    Olga: What was that... that doll out there taking care of the graves? Why is it moving?
    Kyril: She.
    Olga: *narrows her eyes slightly*
  • Kyril, as well as the narration, refers to Shamuhaza, now an insectoid Eldritch Abomination as "it", "creature", and "beast", rather than "he" or "man". It's an understandable case, since Shamuhaza went One-Winged Angel offstage.
• It's Personal:
  • The Olga-Celestine feud. Olga developed a hatred towards the human race due to the enslavement of the dark elves on the hands of human slavers. Seeing Eostia as the embodiment of all the wrongs that befell her kind, she declared war against the country. Celestine responded in kind, leading to a centuries-long conflict, but she was most concerned with getting her friend back.
  • Grace's grudge towards Olga is due to the former's homeland, Loraine, being sacrificed to the Always Chaotic Evil orcs by the latter. She experienced the death of her husband, was displaced from their home, and was enslaved by the Leaping Lizards band (the last bit seems to be Adapted Out in the remastered version). She's not alone in that regard — the story later reveals there are surviving refugees from Loraine, and they are not happy with Olga for more or less the same reason.
  • The war against the Black Dogs becomes more and more personal for the Seven Shields. The two parties used to have close ties with each other due to their cooperation during the war against Olga, but the main events of the story have the PMC group turning against them as a Military Coup. Fortress cities under the Shields' protection are under attack one by one for the entirety of the series. Specifically, Maia's Rape as Drama, Luu-Luu's demise, and the Mandeville Schism^note the time where House Mandeville and The Church rebelled and caused blood to be spilt in the capital are considered to be major blows, events that The Alliance will never stomach.
  • Claudia's bad blood towards Kyril becomes more personal after her husband Klaus, who is suspected of being a traitor, is put under protective custody by the Hunter.
  • Kyril generally has a "Nothing Personal" attitude to the blood he spilt before and during the war, but there are two occasions where he attributes a personal reason to the conflict. The first occasion (where the plot starts escalating) is the elimination of Shamuhaza. Kyril's motive for his elimination goes beyond averting a major disaster — he considers this his duty to uphold the Masquerade, to make sure the shameful deeds of the Healing Church remain buried, so none would suffer as he did in his Dark and Troubled Past, like what happened to Yharnam and its citizenry. The second occasion is his first death in the fanfic. He finds it unacceptable that he lost an eye and Celestine is scarred due to his "assassination", sending him in an Unstoppable Rage and overkill the assassin responsible. He even lampshades how petty the second occasion is.
  • From Alicia's perspective in the remastered version, Kyril's mannerisms towards her reeks of disrespect, hence a personal affront to herself and her honour as a knight. She intends to reclaim her honour by besting him during his Trial by Combat, which ended up in vain. Alicia doesn't take her loss well, leading her to assault Soren as Revenge by Proxy.
• It's Quiet… Too Quiet:
  • Once Kyril and the Black Dogs successfully enter the Black Fortress via a secret entrance, Kyril is rather concerned with the empty passageway, seemingly bereft of any life inside. He internally notes that everything is going to plan, going far too well for his liking. Then they've got company.
  • The streets of Rad are ominously silent, a far cry to the city that was once a bustling place. A good sign that Kyril and his company are being lured in to be surrounded by mutated mooks from all sides. This does happen later on, but not before the hunters proceed onward to the hornet's nest without the troops, in order to avert a potential case of Redshirt Army.

J

• Jawbreaker:
  • In Chapter 30 of the original, Soren breaks a mook's jaw with the hand guard of his sword while pursuing Mandeville.
  • In Chapter 10 of the remastered version, after Kyril grants Brandon Irons the choice to either kneel or stand, Irons does the former. Kyril responds by kicking him in the jaw, which breaks it and causes some broken teeth to fly out.
• Jeanne d'Archétype:
  • Celestine may be a Really 700 Years Old High Elf Queen, and it is not revealed whether she had a humble upbringing or not, but she experiences supernatural visions, is not much of a fighter like the actual Joan of Arc, and is stated to be the spiritual leader of the Church, beloved by many as the Goddess Reborn.
  • Subverted for Alicia in the remastered version. A blonde princess knight dubbed "Knight of Iris", dressed in a set of light blue plate and mail, her appearance bears a resemblance to Saber, a specific breed of this character archetype. In reality, she has a noble upbringing rather than a humble one, is not a symbol for some noble cause, and, despite her exhibiting Knight in Shining Armor characteristics, is far from a saintly figure.
• Just One Man: The phrase "he's just one man!" is an all-too-common response from anyone who underestimates the Good Hunter's asskicking capabilities.

K

• Kangaroo Court: Defied by Kyril. Anticipating that this trope will happen during a "formal" trial, he demands a Trial by Combat in response to the accusations levelled against him (his murder of Vault, in addition to possible conspiracy against the crown), in Chapter 12 of the remastered version. To be precise, he denies "a court so steeped in its corruption" to try him.
• Knight in Sour Armor:
  • The Night of the Hunt has shaped the Good Hunter into a scarred, jaded killer who is insensitive to any sort of carnage or suffering. Although he shuns heroism and idealism, it is evident that people are better off as a result of his deeds (e.g., hunting down marauding orc bands, saving his travelling companions from danger, etc.). Under his hard-killer exterior, he bears no ill will towards innocent people, respects anyone who is genuinely nice or demonstrates a conscience, honours his promises, and refuses to treat others with snobbery, even though his sheer power would allow him to get away with practically anything. The original version of the story, in particular, takes this trope to a literal level due to him being knighted. As much as Kyril desires a quiet, peaceful life and forget about the horrors of the Hunt, he still chooses to fight against the Black Dogs and their desire to rape, enslave and subjugate people under their Sex Empire, when he could have left those people to stand alone. He empathises with the young, the desperate, the starving, and the poor, as they remind him of his struggles. Ultimately, the Good Hunter acknowledges that there are times where he may fail to save everyone, or he may save none at all. He knows that feeling all too well, but he does his damnedest to salvage what he can, to stop the situation from getting worse, and to atone for failing those he tried to rescue during the Night of the Hunt.
  • Lily is no stranger to the cruelty of the Black Dogs after being captured by them in the Feoh/Ur Arc. After Kyril took her in as a hunter, she decides to lend her strength to defend the weak, so they need not go through the suffering she did. She takes Kyril's mentality of "saving as many as possible, even if it is impossible to save everyone" to heart.
• Knighting: Kyril is knighted by The High Queen Celestine for his contribution to putting an end to the Forever War against Olga. As Sir Kyril Sutherland, he would be able to formally serve her kingdom and aid the people of Eostia. This has yet to happen in the remastered version, however.

L

• Lady and Knight:
  • Claudia is the leader of the Dawn Templars, stalwart paladins who swore to defend Celestine, High Elf Queen and the Goddess Reborn.
  • As the story sometimes refers to Chloe, Olga's shadow, as her knight, together with how protective Chloe is to her liege lady, the two count as this. Though, Olga sees their relationship as more than that.
• Last-Second Chance: Inverted. During the climax of Chapter 6, remastered version, Vault offers Kyril one last chance to join his Sex Empire, starting by handing over Olga and Chloe. He responds by blowing him up to smithereens.
• Last Stand: Unusually, people who do this are lucky enough to survive long enough for a Big Damn Heroes.
  • Sergeant Roland prepares to meet his end, axe in hand as his soldiers are being forced back by greenskins. Then he catches sight of a dangling, upside-down rune, painted on a flag unfurled in the distance — the arrival of Sir Kyril's company.
  • Soren, after killing ten guards on his own, is seemingly at his limit. One of his arms is broken, yet there are five more remaining and Mandeville's within his sights. He intends to go down in a blaze of glory, until a gunshot is heard, and one guard has a hole on the side of his head. The remaining four turn as they see Hugh charge from the left flank.
• The Leader:
  • Vault is the head honcho of the Black Dogs, as well as the story's Big Bad. His charisma allows him to garner support from multiple groups for his ambitions, from the orcs in the Grim Up North, the mercs in Ansur, to the nobility of Eostia. Speaking of ambitions, Vault also shows traits of "mastermind" as seen from how he plans his coup, mostly by staying in the Evil Tower of Ominousness to plan his invasions, all for his dream of a Sex Slave Empire.
  • The following are the leader figures Kyril Sutherland has played in both versions of the story:
    • In the original version, Kyril is the master of his four apprentices, as well as Four-Star Badass of his Men of Sherwood. As the former, Kyril is the most practical and experienced of the "Five-Hunter Band" (levelheaded). As the latter, Kyril inspires loyalty via Asskicking Leads to Leadership and dreaded reputation (charismatic). The "headstrong" trait is demonstrated in both roles from how he sticks with his subordinates through thick and thin, while understanding when to be flexible (e.g. ordering his men not to follow him for the sake of averting Redshirt Army).
    • In the remastered version, Kyril is the de facto leader of his Great Escape party. Has traits of "charismatic" (due to Asskicking Leads to Leadership) and "levelheaded" (due to him outright saying that his companions are his responsibility).
• Lean and Mean: The Hunter is an inverted example due to being a Good Is Not Nice Anti-Hero rather than a villain. His lean physique contrasts his inhuman strength and is one of the reasons why his appearance invokes a sinister figure.
• Leeroy Jenkins: For some reason, this trope is never played completely straight: either it is subverted, or justified when it happens.
  • To start with, there's Chapter 11 of the original. What is Sanakan's plan to break through the gates of Ansur, when there are orc battle lines and a few cave trolls at the front? "We need to break through them." The readers are led to believe that this trope may happen given how Hot-Blooded she is, only for it to be subverted: the troops begin their assault under the cover of Olga's artillery strike, allowing them to break through easily.
  • Then there's Chapter 1 of the remastered version, where Kyril simply walks into the clearing to face off the orc band in front of him, after giving Alicia and her two subordinates an offhand suggestion to "hit them from four sides". From Alicia's perspective, this is certainly suicidal, but as Kyril one-shots a pair of orcs with his throwing knives, and then taunts the bigger one, it is clear that Kyril has the strength and skill to back it up, and he is not going to have any problems whatsoever.
  • During the assault of the Black Fortress in the remastered version, Kyril initially sticks with Vault's plan of hitting the southern wall of the fortress. Striking directly at the chieftain of the orc encampment in front of him is not regarded as reckless, but rather an offensive tactic that's Crazy Enough to Work. Later on, the enemy forces use a Defensive Feint Trap to immolate a portion of the Black Dogs. Kyril's decision is to rush towards the mage responsible while disregarding Vault's command to regroup. Again, this is justified as another Attack! Attack! Attack! tactic that simply works because he's just that good and fast, not to mention the enemy forces Didn't See That Coming, thus scrambling to reform the line to no avail.
• Left for Dead:
  • Chapter 4: Hugh is left to bleed out after being stabbed in the eye by an orc. Luckily, he survives thanks to Kyril's help.
  • Chapter 8: Seeing that one man he eviscerated is still alive, Kyril squeezes his head with his tendrils to obtain info about Beasley and leaves him to die in pain after the deed.
• Leg Focus:
  • In Chapter 7 of the original, Shani enters Kyril's temporary quarters to notify him that Bergen has received her message, and to chat him up. The narration describes her crossing her legs while sitting on the chair that Kyril once occupied, which shows off quite a bit of skin.
  • In Chapter 10 of the original, Kyril encounters Grace while eating breakfast. He notes that her sarong shows off her fine legs. Unlike typical examples, this is merely an observation rather than the character ogling.
  • In the remastered version, Soren and Kyril meet two serving girls while securing lodging in a Fantasy Tavern. Soren, eyes widening, notes that one of them is dressed in a long sarong that "accentuated her very fine legs".
• Like a Daughter to Me: After being informed of Chloe's condition in Chapter 30 of the original, Olga wistfully says to Kyril and Celestine that Chloe is the daughter she never asked for yet always wished to have. Given how Olga had raised Chloe as her own long ago, it's understandable.
• Living Emotional Crutch: It is not uncommon for characters to have at least one person to provide them emotional support to cope with trauma and difficult times.
  • This trope is the basis for the Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl dynamic between Kyril and the Plain Doll. The Doll has supported him (plus the countless Hunters before him) whenever she could since his Dark and Troubled Past (i.e., the entirety of Bloodborne) and onwards. Although the PTSD-laden Kyril is fine on his own outside while she resides in the Dream doing her thing, his mood improves significantly every time the Doll makes her presence known. At one point in the original version, he denies that he would get lonely by bringing up how he has "a wonderful friend who keeps him from going insane", whom the Doll is non-subtly implied to be.
  • Since Sanakan and Hugh only had one attachment (i.e., each other) during their time as orphaned pickpockets, it is implied that they only had each other to rely on for affection, even though their past is not shown in detail. Additionally, Sanakan is said to serve as Hugh's "voice" because the boy cannot speak, meaning that Hugh would have to rely on her if they needed to interact with people.
  • For hundreds of years, Grace had been in a state of perpetual loneliness because of losing her home and her husband to war, as well as being one of the few dark elves in the world. She was able to relieve the loneliness a bit thanks to meeting Anna and Ian by chance, with Anna especially providing her a home and presumably emotional support for Grace to build a new life.
  • Lily helps Maia cope with the aftermath of Rape as Drama by counselling and addressing her bad dreams.
  • Olga started a war due to her hatred of humanity for what the human slavers did to her kind. For all her power and riches, the Dark Elf Queen had no friends, only subjects and enemies. She gained one attachment by the name of Chloe after saving the half-elf from enslavement. On her own, Olga raised the child until she became the queen's vassal, seeing Chloe as "the sunlight in her otherwise dark world". Judging from her fervorous loyalty towards her queen, Chloe would surely think the same.
• Living Shadow: From Olga's point of view, Kyril is never alone — he is surrounded by countless shadows resembling those he killed, including other hunters and beasts. Even Kyril himself admits that the dead sometimes come to speak to him in his dreams.
• Lonely Funeral: Luu-Luu's funeral is a private affair, so it counts as this.
• Loners Are Freaks: Initially Played Straight for Kyril Sutherland, whose introversion, dislike of attention, and tendency to keep to himself like a closed clam are several reasons why others are wary of him. Not that he cares in the slightest, for Kyril is used to being alone for the most parts of his life, and that he really doesn't want others to know more about him, his past (which involves Things Man Was Not Meant to Know), and his true nature. Gradually deconstructed in a nice way as he doesn't object to interacting with others in general: his moments as Four-Star Badass where he has to communicate with his men prove exactly that. He's distant, yet polite, not some standoffish dude who keeps saying, "I Work Alone, thank you very much". Last but not least, despite gaining people he genuinely appreciates and sees as "friend" other than his doll companion, Kyril never becomes more sociable or touchy-feely, nor does he ever profess about how "friendship is cool". After all, he accepts that he shall walk a lonely, bitter path as a Hunter of beasts. Plus, the man would rather let the others have their time, while he basks in the peace and quiet that solitude brings.
• The Lost Lenore: Grace's unnamed husband is a Gender-Inverted Example. He is a Posthumous Character, and his death not only serves to show how Grace continues with life as it is while widowed, but also provides a reason for her amniosity with Olga.
• Lovecraftian Superpower:
  • As a result of Shamuhaza's, er, "enhancements", the Black Dogs now have mutated mooks that weaponise their Body Horror in a variety of ways, from suddenly sprouting Combat Tentacles, to distended jaws that can bite off someone's head in one go. Sure, they are Elite Mooks, but they don't get these abilities willingly, and they are not having a good time, at all.
  • Narratively speaking, Star Power is considered to be unnatural. Makes sense, for only those who delve into the Eldritch Truth can utilise it. It speaks volumes when even the most skilled of arcane/magic users, like Olga, Celestine, and Shamuhaza, are not shown to fire streams of starlight. Kyril, from his experience in Yharnam, states that he had seen a few creatures that are able to fire starlight, like the Celestial Emissary. Therefore, he deduced that something or someone related to the Healing Church's research had somehow ended up here.
  • The above is further supported in the remastered version. After Kyril uses A Call Beyond to overkill Vault, Olga's narration remarks that this starfire spell is not something she had in her repertoire, doubting whether Celestine would even have something like this in her arsenal.
  • Kyril is a justified example. Why else would he be able to sprout out mind-probing, mind-controlling tendrils out of his arm? And that's not getting to the full extent of what he can do. As for the origin? Well... he turned into a squid (to be precise, an infant great one) after punching out the Moon Presence before the series began. Fortunately, he is able to keep a human form and switch to his great one form with ease, except that would do terrible things to anyone and anything around him, so he's not going to do that.
  • Mind over Matter. Yes, moving things without lifting a finger. In another universe, say, a Superhero setting or a certain Sci-Fi setting, this would hardly count as "Lovecraftian"; in The Night Unfurls, a Dark Fantasy world of steel and magic, it's a different story: telekinesis is portrayed as uncanny due to averting Just Hit Him, it's not explained in any way regarding its mechanism, and so far, only one person/entity is confirmed to possess this power. No, it's not Kyril. That honour instead goes to Evetta, the Plain Doll herself.
• Low Fantasy: Although this fanfic (moreso the original version) is predominantly a Dark Fantasy, it also contains several crucial elements of this genre to make it qualify as such. To begin with, human elements dominate the setting. While Standard Fantasy Races do exist, it is clear that humans and elves are not so different except for age. Half-lings, while similar to dwarves, are portrayed as shorter humans upon closer inspection, and orcs are counted as The Horde. Classic mythical creatures don't exist — no dragons, no phoenixes, no unicorns. As for methods, victory is achieved via physical combat, small or large, rather than moral superiority. Magic exists, but neither glamorous magical systems nor "sorcerer versus sorcerer" battles are present. Warfare is a common element in this story, where people fight for power, land, and resources. For extra realism, strategy, tactics, and logistics do play a role in determining whoever side has the upper hand.
• Lowered Recruiting Standards: Vehemently defied. It has been stated that under no circumstances should Kyril's company lower the recruiting standards for anyone seeking fame and fortune. Only the absence of glory hounds and sycophants can ensure the effectiveness of his company.
• Lured into a Trap: Happens in Chapter 6 of the original, where Beasley, nervous and annoyed that Kyril is arriving to investigate Feoh, lays a plan to let him enter the fortress, trap him inside, and kill him. He really thinks that a squad of soldiers can easily take down the Hunter, not to mention that he is also accompanied by his two apprentices as well.

M

• Macguffin: The Pantielle ancestral sword serves this purpose in the Ansur Arc. Its only purpose is to give Kyril a secondary reason to go to Ansur — to find it and return it to its rightful owner. His primary objective is to ascertain the situation in this place, to see whoever important is in cahoots with the Black Dogs (and root them out if necessary). Kyril even says that the sword is merely for ceremonial purposes, not something practical to fight with.
• The Magnificent:
  • The title "Kyril the Bloody" is bestowed upon the Good Hunter for his merciless and brutal actions at the Nellos Watch Tower. He puts a lampshade on this by noting internally: such a nice title.
  • Kyril P.O.V. refers to Celestine as "Celestine the Fair" during their first meeting in the remastered version.
  • One of the orc war chiefs Kyril slays has a Name To Run Away From Really Fast, named "Ozgriz the Mighty". In the remastered version, he has slain two of them with such names: "Ozgriz the Defiler" and "Thurog the Tall".
• A Man Is Always Eager: Zig-zagged.
  • This trope is the underlying assumption for supporting Vault's ambition of a Sex Empire. The "logic" is something like this: any man want sex, so any man would support a regime where all women being sex slaves by law, since they can have their crushes, obtain as many partners as possible, and fulfill their sexual desires. Amongst the Black Dogs, Shamuhaza seems to be the exception, as he is more interested in furthering his experiments and research than sex. More exceptions are shown in the remastered version, which introduces several Black Dog members who eventually defect after Vault's revelation to betray the Seven Shields.
  • Otherwise, the narrative gives no indication as to whether the male characters, major or minor, are sexually driven. Tellingly, the males in the Eostian military, which has no gender restrictions, are not portrayed as eager to have sex with the females in a given chance. Furthermore, there is no indication whether the world of The Night Unfurls places a high value on a woman's virginity either.
  • Downplayed for Hugh. He shows more eagerness than Sanakan during their lovemaking in Chapter 18 of the original, but this is expressed as a sign of devotion, and he is far from a horny person.
  • To cap it off, the very fact that Kyril Sutherland exists is a mockery of this trope. While he does see himself as a broken man, it's because he's a Shell-Shocked Veteran and a great one, not because of his unwillingness to have sex. All in all, he is simply not into sex. Full stop.
• Manly Tears: Kyril Sutherland, established in Chapter 1 of the original as a stone-cold badass who never bats an eye when killing things, is revealed to have cried during a flashback that happens in the very same chapter. Said flashback involves a Comfort the Dying scene between Kyril and his mentor figure Eileen the Crow, the latter in her last moments.
• Marshmallow Hell: Happens in Chapter 20 of the original. After Soren declares he is not going to mess up again, Grace teases Soren via this method, his face rubbing up against her large chest.
• Masquerade: Reconstructed. Everything related to Yharnam, the Old Blood, the Great Ones, and almost anything Bloodborne is hidden from the Eostian populace. However, it's not a case of the supernatural actively hiding their existence, but rather a case where the supernatural is located in a remote, inaccessible location (Yharnam) instead of being some hidden society within the kingdom of Eostia. Those who have, or eventually gain some knowledge of them are tight-lipped about their origins. Kyril sees this as a Dark Secret to be buried forever, while the few people who eventually gain some tidbits of it are Welcomed to the Masquerade, certainly not interested in exposing it. Both the Rad Arc and the Leaping Lizards Arc see the actions of an Evil Sorcerer threatening to break the masquerade as a result of delving into the Eldritch Truth. The consequences are laid bare, with the fortress city of Rad twisted into an Eldritch Location, its citizenry mutated from the sorcerer's sick experiments. What's worse is that this is not the first time where the supernatural is subject to much misuse and exploitation that ultimately doomed a region beyond repair^note see Bloodborne for more details. All in all, Kyril's efforts in concealing the secrets of Yharnam, hence the existence of the masquerade, is meant to prevent a repeat of history, which makes a hell lot of sense.
• Master Swordsman: Oh so many.
  • All five hunters in the story use trick weapons that either resemble a sword, or have a sword mode, and they can certainly hack through any foe like a knife cutting through butter.
  • Due to his proficiency with the greatsword, Vault is regarded as a hero of Eostia, famed for repulsing the enemies from Eostia's borders numerous times during the Forever War between Celestine and Olga. His skill is best showcased in Chapter 3 of the remastered version, where he is able to trade blows with Kyril. It says a lot when Kyril, after said duel, admits that a normal warrior would have trouble fighting Vault.
  • Three out of the Seven Shields count as this. Both Claudia and Alicia earn their prestiges through their skill with the sword, while the Dual Wielding Maia is known as one of the strongest mercenaries in Eostia.
  • Several knights of the nobility, like Sir Mikhail Pantielle and Grave Levantine, are this by reputation only.
• Mathematician's Answer: A brute is in shocked disbelief after Kyril lobs one of his arms off, saying that he wasn't supposed to do that. Kyril replies, "Aye"^note which means "yes", before beheading him.
• Mature Work, Child Protagonists: This fanfic is rated "Fiction M" on FanFiction.Net, and at least three viewpoint characters are Kid Heroes.
• Meaningful Name:
  • The Hunter, Kyril Sutherland. Kyril is derived from the Greek name Κύριλλος (Kýrillos), meaning "lordly, masterful", while Sutherland is derived from Suðrland that means "southern land". The Strong and Skilled Kyril fights for Eostia, also known as "the South", eventually gaining the rank of Lord Executioner through his exploits.
  • The Plain Doll's given name, Evetta, is actually the first name of her English VA in Bloodborne, Evetta Muradasilova. The name itself is a diminutive form of the Latin name "Eva", meaning "life" or "mother of life". Evetta is a human-sized doll with life and sentience, a doll who cared for Kyril like a mother after his Eldritch Transformation.
  • Celestine's first name is a Stellar Name based on the Latin word "caelestis", which means "heavenly", alluding to her status as the Goddess Reborn. Her last name, Lucross, is also known as Lucullus as a result of Spell My Name With An S. Lucullus was a Roman general and statesman who became the conqueror of the eastern kingdoms in the course of the Third Mithridatic War, renowned for his extraordinary generalship. Except that Celestine is The High Queen, neither a general nor a conqueror.
  • Olga Discordia, whose first name is derived from the Old Norse name Helga ("blessed"), alluding to her arcane prowess as a Lady of Black Magic. Her last name, Discordia, references the Roman goddess of strife and discord. She was the one who declared war against Eostia and hence started a centuries-long conflict.
  • Prim Fiorire is prim and proper, like a typical princess. Her last name means "flourish" or "blossom" in Italian.
  • Maia means "nurturing mother" in Greek, and she is anything but.
  • Alicia Arcturus. Alicia means "noble" or "nobility", while Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes, as well as a possible etymologies offered for the name "Arthur" (King Arthur). She is the celebrated Princess Knight of Feoh who strives to be a Knight in Shining Armor. Arcturus is also the third-brightest of the individual stars in the night sky. Emphasis on third-brightest, not the brightest. Her character arc in the remastered version deals with the cruel reality of Always Someone Better due to Kyril's appearance.
  • Shamuhaza, a derivation from Samyaza, means "the/my name has seen" or "I have seen". He delved into the Eldritch Truth, seeing Things Man Was Not Meant to Know. According to the Book of Enoch, Samyaza is a fallen angel, as well as the leader of a band of angels called "Watchers". These Watchers became consumed with lust for mortal women and entered into machinations against heaven in order to consummate their desires. Meanwhile, Shamuhaza is a prominent Arc Villain whose allegiance is to the Black Dogs, a PMC group who betrays their contract to Eostia and wants to build a Sex Slave Empire.
• Melancholy Moon: In Chapter 1 of the original, Kyril is seen sharpening his Saw Cleaver under a moonlit night, preparing for his duty to Celestine, who gave him the task of delivering her rival Olga back to the South, alive. Within the sound of steel being sharpened, he broods over the reality that a hunter like him is better at ending lives than preserving them. Kyril then turns his attention to the Holy Moonlight Sword, which, as the name suggests, has a complementary motif to the moon in the sky. The story then presents a Continuity Nod about the weapon's heritage: how the sword once belonged to the First Hunter of the Healing Church, Ludwig; how the owner of the sword inevitably fell to the Beast Scourge, twisted into an accursed beast, a mockery of his former ideals; how the man that was once Ludwig the Accursed finally found peace as Ludwig the Holy Blade; and lastly, how the blade, his mentor and guiding Moonlight, is bequeathed to the Hunter during his final moments. To cap it off, the last two paragraphs of this scene have Kyril hoping that nothing terrible will happen in the upcoming battle. Overall, it is a melancholy scene that compliments Kyril's isolated and introspective nature, especially to those who are familiar with Bloodborne lore.
• Men of Sherwood: Sir Kyril Sutherland's company counts as this, along with several named supporting characters. They include Bergen, Indriga, Alaric, Lucius, Roland, and many more. Compared to the hunters, these men and women neither stand out in any way, nor go through some sort of major character arc. Nevertheless, their competence and discipline prove to be vital for ending any battle as swift as possible. Every soldier has gone through a rigorous training regiment, has both studied and applied various strategies and tactics, and is fully equipped with everything they need (i.e. adequate food, weapons, etc.) in order to fulfil their role and survive. No wonder they do their job well.
• Mentor Archetype:
  • The Good Hunter is this to Sanakan, Hugh, Lily and Soren, training them into Strong and Skilled hunters. A unique case where the mentor is an Experienced Protagonist with youthful features rather than some "wise, old sage who dies in the middle of the story".
  • As for the Hunter himself, he was once mentored by Gehrman, the First Hunter. The Hunter's P.O.V. sheds some light on how Gehrman taught him to fight: he had no formal instruction, for Gehrman believed that the best way to hunt beasts was through practical experience on the field of battle. Disregarding honourable combat, the pupil was also taught to be cunning, focused, swift, and cruel.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard:
  • A flashback in Chapter 1 of the original shows a Comfort the Dying moment between Kyril and Eileen, his senior and "a mentor who no longer dreams". Knowing that Kyril was resolute in carrying the Hunter's burden, she bequeathed to him her badge that symbolises a Hunter's work before passing away.
  • Kyril went through this a second time by experiencing the death of his mentor Gehrman before the events of the main story. With a twist, this instance DOES NOT involve some sort of villain. Instead, Kyril was the one who duelled his mentor and slayed him, all so he could free the old man from the Hunter's Dream^note Readers of this Continuation Fic who have played Bloodborne before will know that their fight is one of the most climactic moments in the game. After that, Kyril intends to honour him by taking up his mantle as First Hunter, showing that Gehrman, despite his demise, is never forgotten.
  • Later discussed in the original version. All four of Kyril's apprentices express relief that their master is still in tip-top shape after being shot by an assassin. Sanakan, in particular, comments how it would suck should he kicked it, which is not going to happen anytime soon.
• Mess of Woe: Gender-inverted. Celestine's quarters are a mess, her belongings scattered all over the floor, a reflection of her frenzied attempts to dampen the maddening whispers in her ears due to reading Kyril's journal.
• Military Coup: Played With. It's not the country's own military per se that intends to overthrow the current regime, but rather the most renowned mercenary group (the Black Dogs) with close ties with said country (Eostia) that does so. Moreover, said mercenary group decide to invoke the trope after heading the Grim Up North, taking over the Black Fortress, and attaining N.G.O. Superpower status as a result of making full use of the orcs and the resources of the fortress.
• Mind Rape: Since the Good Hunter is a great one, the Brown Note that occurs whenever he either releases a small portion of his eldritch might, or showing his true form, would have this effect on anyone unfortunate enough, driving them insane. The one time he invokes the effects of this trope is during his second encounter with Shamuhaza, now an insectoid Eldritch Abomination. Upon glimpsing what is behind the Good Hunter's mortal mask, the Evil Sorcerer has his brain "bombarded with nightmares, dreams, and hate". A Fate Worse than Death, this is nonetheless portrayed as a case of Pay Evil unto Evil, as comeuppance for his atrocities.
• Mistaken Death Confirmation: Celestine witnesses Kyril's assassination via Moe Greene Special and his revival via Resurrective Immortality, right in front of her. She later questions him regarding his survival, even when she felt him die (presumably an arcane talent she possesses).
• Mistaken for Betrayal: In the remastered version, upon seeing Olga accompanying Kyril on the road to the capital, Grace feels betrayed by how Kyril insists on protecting the woman she hates to complete his mission. To be fair, he had no idea about the animosity between the two.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Any appearance of Elite Mooks of this feature can be easily traced back to Shamuhaza's experiments.
  • Right before the end of the Tragedy of Rad Arc, Kyril faces off against an amalgamation of corpses that bears resemblance to The One Reborn.
  • The mutants that appear in the second half of the Leaping Lizards Arc are mostly human-insect hybrids with other deformities.
• Moe Greene Special:
  • Due to Improbable Aiming Skills, Hugh is able to kill a hobgoblin by shooting its left eye with an arrow on the way to the village, Shad.
  • Kyril's first death involves taking a crossbow bolt to the side of his head, hitting his eye, and killing him.
• The Mole: An Exaggerated Trope, due to the sheer number of characters, named or unnamed, count as this. One of Sir Kyril's tasks is to root out as many of these as possible. From Arc Villains like Beasley, Grishom, and Mandeville, to one-offs like Berol, Kyril and his company have proven to be highly effective in disposing of those who work for the Black Dogs in secret.
• Molotov Cocktail: Both Kyril and Soren have Molotovs at their disposal. For the latter, they're useful for starting a fire at a cathedral to burn it down.
• Mook Horror Show: Let's face it. This is bound to happen a lot when Kyril is a Terror Hero, wields the Saw Cleaver, and is always covered in the gore of his foes whenever he is active. It is exaggerated in Chapter 8 of the original story, where Beasley and the Mortadella brothers, the Arc Villains of the Feoh/Ur Arc, are the ones being terrorised.
• Mordor: Garan (named after the haughty goddess of the same name) was once a verdant and green land, now a desert wasteland because of Olga's Black Magic, deterring any invasion to her fortress. There's foul air, monsters galore, terrible climate, twisted vegetation, ravaged villages, and blatantly bad places like The Badlands or The Dead Marshes. Travellers are susceptible to disease, starvation, monster attacks, and in the case of armies, loss of morale, hence why many never return home in one piece.
• Morton's Fork: During Chapter 6 of the remastered version, Kyril and Olga briefly discuss this trope after he makes it clear that the mission to bring her south is of utmost priority. Olga bitterly asks how he would bother letting her choose to stay or leave, given that she's damned either way no matter the choice. To be frank, she does have a point: if she stays, she would be at the mercy of the Black Dogs; if she leaves, she would be at the mercy of Kyril instead, who has proven to be ten times as dangerous. Kyril replies that even if the choices are bad and worse, it's still her decision to make. It just happens that it is one that some find liberating, while some don't. Cue Come with Me If You Want to Live remark.
• Most Writers Are Human: If there is a character of non-human fantasy race and is not a mook, they tend to have human-like intelligence and behaviour. While the main protagonist is an Eldritch Abomination disguised as a man, he Was Once a Man and his human form is meant to be A Form You Are Comfortable With, though he doesn't really find humans admirable in general.
• Mr. Vice Guy: Kyril Sutherland's several vices are tempered by his professionalism, hence his sense of right and reason. He's cynical, but driven to do good. He's brutal, but that's directed to his enemies, not innocent people. He's paranoid, but he has been Taught by Experience not to lower his guard, and he still has at least one person he can trust. Last but not least, he's very dispassionate to the point of being seemingly uncaring of anybody and anything, but he is capable of empathy.
• Ms. Fanservice: To be expected, considering that this fanfic uses Kuroinu as source material.
  • Olga Discordia is described as a six-foot-tall Lady of Black Magic with long dark hair, warm espresso skin, and a voluptuous body, covered by a corset and underwear. She is also quite flirty^note this trait is absent in the remastered version, and her voice is described as "seductive, ringing with authority".
  • Chloe, Olga's servant, is described as lean and supple, dressed in a similar fashion to Olga (see above). While she wears scaled light armour and leather in the remastered version, a Black Dog merc crows "that ass is fine" when molesting her.
  • Most, if not all, of the members of the Seven Shields wear revealing attire. The remastered version tones the fanservice down (e.g. Alicia and Claudia actually wear plate armour instead of a Chainmail Bikini) for every member but Maia, who wears a tunic that shows a Navel-Deep Neckline in both versions.
  • Shani, introduced exclusively in the Feoh/Ur Arc, is a justified example. She is the mistress of the Rosie, which is a brothel.
  • Both Grace and Anna are fanservice-y serving girls, so they obviously count.
• Mucking in the Mud:
  • Kyril is displeased with the mud in Scathlocke, for it, along with the cold and humidity, is responsible for bogging down the soldiers under his command.
  • Getting stuck in the mud is one of the risks of trekking through the Dead Marshes, as Fredrick, who sinks waist-deep into the muck, learns the hard way.
• Multi-Ranged Master:
  • Kyril has so far never missed a single time whenever he uses his pistol, blunderbuss, or throwing knives.
  • Hugh is adept at two types of ranged weaponry: pistols (Evelyn Pistol, Repeating Pistol) and archery (Simon's Bowblade).
• Mutants: The Elite Mooks born from Shamuhaza's experiments are also known as mutants. They can be of any fantasy race transformed into hideous husks with little sanity left, or the result of Face Full of Alien Wing-Wong.

N

• Name That Unfolds Like Lotus Blossom: Some meaningful first and last names form a phrase or sentence.
  • Kyril Sutherland — "Lord / Master of the Southern Land".
  • Alicia Arcturus — "Noble Guardian of the Bear".
  • Shamuhaza (Samyaza) — "The / My Name has Seen", "He Sees the Name", or "I Have Seen".
• Nay-Theist: A couple of benign examples.
  • Kyril Sutherland is well aware of the existence of gods and similar entities in Eostia and beyond, even having a Goddess Incarnate as his employer. He just doesn't revere them. It's not that he has a grudge or anything like that, but rather, he has seen beings like that capable of scaring one's memories for an eternity. Oh, and he has also slain said beings before and ascended to become one of them as well.
  • Discussed in Chapter 2 of the remastered version. In response to Prim's question to Kyril on whether the Goddess makes him uncomfortable, he says, "No. I bear her no ill will. But I have learned that blind faith is lethal." Somehow, Prim concludes that Kyril doesn't believe in divinities (atheist) because of how he doesn't hold the Goddess in high esteem.
  • Chapter 29 of the original has Lily confiding to Soren about how she will forever only trust her own strength instead of the powers of the Goddess Incarnate, putting her Crisis of Faith arc to a closure.
• Neck Lift: One of Kyril's ways to Appeal to Force.
  • Kyril does this to Bishop Sharkov in Chapter 13 to threaten him that he will come for the archbishop personally should he continue to harass the refugee nuns in the church. He later drops the priest unceremoniously when Celestine arrives to diffuse the situation.
  • Kyril lifts up a Black Dog prisoner by the throat during one of his interrogation attempts in Chapter 15. Believing that he is getting ahead of himself, he drops the man contemptuously soon afterwards.
  • A variant of this trope happens in the remastered version, where Kyril lifts Brandon Irons by his clothes and slams him backwards into a tree to assert dominance and show that he knows what Brandon is hiding from him.
• Neck Snap: With Super-Strength, this is done with ease. With or without the typical procedure.
  • Original version:
    • Chapter 4: One moment during Kyril's massacre of the Black Dog mercs in a church involves him breaking a mook's neck with a backhand, as he tries to grapple for the weapon in his hands.
    • Chapter 7: After obtaining information about the whereabouts of the Gadsden Gang, Hugh obliges Sanakan's request to end the interrogation with a man affiliated with said gang by snapping his neck the typical way. Sanakan stabs the man's head just in case.
    • Chapter 7: In the Feoh dungeons, Kyril grabs a red imp by the neck, squeezing so hard that one of its beady eyes popped out. The imp is tossed aside after having its neck crushed.
    • Chapter 29: While ridding of Mandeville's associates in a warehouse, Sanakan breaks her opponent's neck with a blow from her heavy bracer.
    • Chapter 29: Evetta, without glancing back, dishes out a psychic variant on a traitorous guard, his throat crushed by some unknown force.
    • Chapter 32: Olin is executed via a neck snap by Sanakan for ordering the Good Hunter's assassination, which failed.
  • Remastered version:
    • Chapter 4: Kyril finishes off the orc chieftain Thurog the Tall by adjusting his grip on its head and snapping its neck, though with some effort as the orc tries to shake off the Hunter. Vault internally remarks that it would have taken two of his strongest men to even accomplish the same feat. One of the Black Dogs even vomits at the sight of Thurog's neck and head twisted at an obscene angle.
    • Chapter 9: During his surprise attack on Morgan's camp, Kyril kills a mook by gripping his throat with his left hand, crushing his windpipe.
• The Need for Mead: The original version features a couple of these, namely Hound's Head Bar and Talon Bar, the former of which is where Grace used to work in, while the remastered version has the Half-Moon Inn. Whenever several main characters bump into one of these, you can guarantee that a Bar Brawl is going to happen sooner or later.
• Never Gets Drunk: As showcased in Chapter 30, the utterly unflappable Kyril is capable of emptying a wine bottle with one long swig with nary a reaction. May or may not have something to do with him being a great one.
• Nigh-Invulnerability: The Good Hunter feels no pain and can simply resurrect upon death. The one time someone manages to kill him via an assassination only succeeds in making the Hunter angry.
• No-Harm Requirement: Kyril, along with the Black Dogs, is given a request to bring Olga Discordia back alive, all the way from the Black Fortress in Grim Up North to the capital of Eostia in the South. Just the very fact that Kyril alone is successful in not only nabbing Olga, but also her servant as well, showcases that overwhelming strength is not the only quality he has. He is definitely a brutal killer, but he also accomplishes his task with a code of conduct. The Black Dogs, however, have no intention in completing this task. This Army of Thieves and Whores are more than willing to dismiss the "no harm" part, intending to ravish every prisoner for as long as they want, Olga included.
• No-Sell: In Chapter 5, remastered version, Olga tries to one-shot Kyril with fire. He simply dispels the flames with a Beast Roar, while revealing himself to be unharmed save for minor Clothing Damage.
• Noble Fugitive:
  • Michelle, after his disownment. Kyril is tasked to hunt him down because he disgraced the family name once more by ruining the Pantielle estate and nabbing the ancestral sword.
  • Discussed in the remastered version regarding the Hunter. Boris suspects that the Hunter may be a disgraced noble, because of how he speaks in a refined speech. The Hunter, neither a noble nor a fugitive, feels a bit perturbed about some people calling him a lord.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: Zig-zagged as a result of both Hidden Depths and Beneath the Mask. Vault and Kyril appear to embody the two models of masculinity respectively, but the both of them run deeper than what these archetypes expect them to be.
  • Vault appears to be the Noble Male that everyone looks up to, being a hunk-ish, charismatic leader of the most celebrated PMC group in the land, famed for his invaluable contributions towards the country of Eostia and the war against the Dark Queen. A legend through and through. This guy would later reveal his true colours after winning the war. Usurping said Dark Queen, Vault turns out to be a really nasty Roguish Male who intends to betray and conquer Eostia via Military Coup, and turn the country into a No Woman's Land Sex Slave Empire, starting with the dark elf prisoners as a "test run". What's more is that his "Noble Male" aspects, namely his charisma and reputation, allow him to amass substantial support for his cause.
  • Kyril appears to be the Roguish Male that everyone dreads, being a lean, sinister-looking Mysterious Stranger from a faraway land, known for his stoicism, asociality, and brutality against his enemies. A metaphorical fiend under a man's skin. At the same time, Kyril speaks in a refined speech, is capable of courtesies, has a preference for tea, and is accustomed to burying the dead — "Noble Male" traits being a far cry from the '90s Anti-Hero he is. Over time, the readers and several characters get to see his Noble Male qualities, particularly his attitude towards violence, as well as his concern for the common folk and his subordinates. It turns out that he isn't the ruthless, unfeeling, and bloodthirsty figure he appears to be, but these Roguish Male aspects are how he is recognised by most people In-Universe, something Kyril preferred so that he could be feared. There's also how he isn't interested in sex and romance, yet eventually finds himself surrounded by suitors...
• Noble Profession: Nuns (e.g. Lily, her circle of sisters, Sister Ramiel) are depicted as nice, polite and well-meaning, never a hint of indecency. Especially Lily, who is one of the heroes.
• Nominal Importance:
  • Downplayed in the original version. The mooks of the Black Dogs, being mooks, are generally not named and hence exist to be disposed of. However, there are a few exceptions. Although they have little to no bearing on the plot, they are given a name and serve a small, specific purpose before getting killed off. Here are two examples.
    • Chapter 10 has Genji the Slicer. Receiving little characterisation^note the narration simply informs that he is an enforcer of the Mundus Crime Family and a former warrior banished for his violent actions against women and children, his purpose in the story is to show how the Good Hunter's conducts his investigation in the Wretched Hive of Ansur. And to show off his tendril-power.
    • Chapter 11 has Black Dog recruit Anders Bleu. Like many of his peers, he is offed by the Good Hunter (by a backstab-visceral attack no less!) merely four paragraphs after his introduction. Right before his untimely demise, however, the story gives him a P.O.V. that characterises him as a Harem Seeker eager to be part of the Sex Empire so he could take any woman he pleased. His purpose in the story is to be a representative of the many Black Dog mercs.
  • Played Straight in the remastered version.
    • Named members of the Black Dogs include: Kyril (The Protagonist and new recruit), Vault (head honcho), Vault's lackeys Kin and Hicks^note who aren't relevant to the plot, but have a bit more dialogue and have closer ties to the head honcho than other members, and the ones who turn out to be Defectors From Decadence (Boris, Oliver, Soren and Fredrick). The rest are simply there.
    • Among the forces of the Black Fortress, there are only two plot-relevant characters: Olga, whom the main character is tasked to bring to the South in order to resolve the current Story Arc; and Chloe, who accompanies Olga during the journey to the South due to her importance to the former. The rest are unnamed mooks.
    • New characters are introduced as the setting switches to the town of Baskerville. The named ones are: Grace (P.O.V. character), her friends Anna and Ian, Morgan (antagonist), Brandon Irons (later revealed to be working for Morgan), and the Rat (mysterious ancient entity). The rest are either bar-goers or mooks, hence unnamed.
• Not a Game: Kyril emphasises the need for "disciplined soldiers and killers, not children playing at war" while addressing the recruits in Chapter 13 of the original.
• Not Worth Killing: After ending his Trial by Combat in the remastered version (which is not even a fight to begin with), Kyril declares Alicia and Maia "not even worth killing" and leaves.

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