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WARNING! |
| "There is only one throne...that exists. And I alone shall rule...Over the Rest." |
| — Engen in Episode 65 |
Engen (엔겐), also known as the Smiling Man, is the deuteragonist of Hero Killer. He is the leader of New Nera and was once a central figure of the major conflicts from the previous era of Nera that fought in both the War of Inheritance as an heir to the throne of Nera and as its second king during the Great War over a century ago.
After his loss against the Hero Clan, he went into hiding and somewhere along the decades saved Rachel Sinclair and started organizing the survivors of the war. While he lost against both the clan and the mysterious The Steel Witch, Engen refused to give up on his goals.
Towards the end of the Invasion of Castle Gray, Engen became the newest member of the Elders, the nine strongest Gift users in the world, after defeating Reagan Sinclair and took control of the lands of Castle Gray, which he declared to be New Nera.
Engen was introduced in the District 17 Assault Arc, where he and his villain organization known as the Nameless save Hero Killer after she was nearly killed by Chaos and Viper. Asked by Yushin to look after her, Engen used Hero Killer as a living "weapon" against the Hero Clan in his renewed war that followed his public announcement of their return, while in turn promising to help Ihwa in her search for clues about her sister's death.
Appearance
Engen is a very handsome man, with short light brown hair and grey eyes. He is a tall man, having stood over Jintae Yang, with light tone skin and large scar on the left side of his face and neck, given to him by The Steel Witch, which resulted in his moniker the "Smiling Man".
| "He looks dangerous..." |
| — Ihwa on Engen as she meets him. in Episode 5 |
Engen's iconic scar.
The scar is stylized as red whenever he is going all out during a battle, and throbs with pain whenever he is reminded of the circumstances behind it.
Despite his youthful appearance, Engen is very old having been born around the time of the Era of Nera over a century ago. Although only shown underneath bandages at the most, he has an athletic physique. With clothing, Engen typically wears a dark overcoat with various kinds of equally dark-colored clothing underneath or prefers fashionable casual clothing.
Personality
Engen is a stoic, calm, and collected man at nearly all times, which shows an aura of mystery. However, Rachel says that this is just a front and he's quite crazy, which he used to be more open about in his youth, although it still surfaces from time to time.[1] According to Chain, Engen has always had a creepier side to his personality even in his youth, but he became more twisted as he got older. [2]
A first-class villain, Engen is incredibly ruthless as he won't hesitate to kill his opponents and isn't against harming a great number of bystanders if necessary. He isn't above threatening or even killing his comrades if needed, having once casually warned John Nash that he would kill him the next time he interrupted a conversion, and displayed real intent to kill towards Hero Killer if she couldn't awaken her Gift.
Aside from his villainous tendencies, Engen is a capable leader shown having led the Nameless with respectable authority and charisma without relying on fear or meaningless intimidation. He shows a great amount of influence in using other villains and isn't above forming alliances with them despite their threatening or backstabbing nature.
Nevertheless, Engen is open to helping others, as he took in Rachel Sinclair to help her kill her father and routinely gave advice to Ihwa for her to become stronger as he expected her to become the "torch" that will allow him to finally destroy the Hero Clan and change the era. While remorseless to the point of having no regrets, Engen does possesses some measure of honor in his twisted way, having thought back to all those who helped him along the way in the path of becoming powerful. Whenever in combat, he is incredibly rational, intelligent, and exceedingly confident not getting easily fazed or openly intimidated when facing powerful opponents.
Battles & Events
| Battles & Events |
Past
|
Trivia
- Engen and Bishop share the same birthday, though there is a significant age gap between them.[3]
- It's unknown if Engen was friends with the late Islotta Rainfall.
- Engen is one of four people to have wielded Chain in his Sword of Rewinding - Reconquista.
- Engen is the second person from the Era of Nera to have become an Elder aside from the Master of the Clan and the second youngest member of the Elders as well.
- Engen's Hell pays homage to the Hot Narakas, the eight great hot hells located on one Cakkavāla in Buddhist sutras.
- Sañjīva, the "reviving" Naraka, has ground made of hot iron heated by an immense fire. Beings in this Naraka appear fully grown, already in a state of fear and misery.
- Kālasūtra, the "black thread" Naraka, includes the torments of Sañjīva. In addition, black lines are drawn upon the body, which hell guards use as guides to cut the beings with fiery saws and sharp axes.
- Saṃghāta, the "crushing" Naraka, is surrounded by huge masses of rock that smash together and crush the beings to a bloody jelly. When the rocks move apart again, life is restored to the being and the process starts again.
- Raurava, the "screaming" Naraka, is where beings run wildly about, looking for refuge from the burning ground. When they find an apparent shelter, they are locked inside it as it blazes around them, while they scream inside.
- Mahāraurava, the "great screaming" Naraka, is similar to Raurava. Punishment here is for people who maintain their bodies by hurting others. In this hell, ruru animals known as kravyāda torment them and eat their flesh.
- Tapana, the "heating" Naraka, where hell guards impale beings on a fiery spear until flames issue from their noses and mouths.
- Pratāpana, the "great heating" Naraka. The tortures here are similar to the Tapana Naraka, but the beings are pierced more bloodily with a trident.
- Avīci, the "uninterrupted" Naraka. Beings are roasted in an immense blazing oven with terrible suffering. Life in this Naraka is said to last for the length of an antarakalpa.
- Hell's humanoid creatures' likening is similar to various evil creatures and ghouls from Buddhism like Preta, a type of supernatural being described in Buddhism as undergoing suffering greater than that of humans, particularly an extreme level of hunger and thirst and Jikininki, corpse-eating spirits.
References
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 5
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 111
- ↑ TMI Insignificant 2023#4
| Villains | |
|---|---|
| Individuals | Hero Killer • Yushin • Nenya • Pudding • Chain • Vector • Silver Knight • Voltaire • Mind Shocker • |
| Groups | |
| New Nera | Smiling Man • Puppeteer • Rachel Sinclair • John Nash • Baek-Ji • Bagna • Abyss Dancer • SJ • Needles • Hound • Rendo • Freydis • Orange-Haired Man • The Shadow • First Son of House Sinclair |
| Jintae's Gang | Jintae Yang • Sapphire • Condor • Daemon |
| Gold-Blood Gang | Office Staff • Rezo Gold-Blood • |
| Dusty Cloaks | Number One • |
| Vendetta | Tokata • Scar • Dave • |
| Ex-Villains | Hekate • Nugal • |
| Elders | |
|---|---|
| Current | Victoria • Bishop • Prim Anville • Master of the Clan • Engen • Owl • Milen Kula • Agent Number Seven |
| Former Members | Yushin • Reagan Sinclair • Red-Haired Elder |