Nue Houjuu

Personality Nue is a mischievous girl who is sensitive about her true form. She enjoys playing pranks. Being over 800 years old, most people are younger than her. She usually treats them as such due to her nature as an ancient Youkai. After the events of the Extra Stage in Undefined Fantastic Object, she trains at the Myouren Temple. However, she is not well-acquainted with the other youkai, and has been seen near the edges of the property looking bored.

Abilities Making objects unidentifiable Nue is able to conceal the true nature of other objects. She used this ability in Undefined Fantastic Object to conceal the nature of the fragments of the Flying Storehouse. An object that has lost its "identity" will appear to be a different thing depending on who observes it.

Concealing her true form Nue can modify her appearance to some extent at will. She has been seen as a ball of light in Stage 4 and Stage 6 of Undefined Fantastic Object as well as in a humanoid form (which she considers her true form) during the Extra Stage of Undefined Fantastic Object.

Contact with the outside world Nue is able to contact the outside world, which is evident from her relationship with Mamizou Futatsuiwa in Ten Desires.

Possessions Three-pronged Trident Nue wields a trident that she carries wherever she goes. She uses it as a conduit for summoning Danmaku. It's possible that it can also be used for physical combat.

Character Design

Nue, as illustrated in Symposium of Post-mysticism Name Her full name is Nue Houjuu (封獣　ぬえ). Like Satori, her first name is also the name of her species, nue. Nue's family name, Houjuu (封獣), literally translates to "sealed beast". "封" might be in reference to Nue's imprisonment underground prior to the events of Undefined Fantastic Object.

Design Nue has short black hair and dark red eyes. She has three red metallic-looking wings on the right side of her back, and three blue arrow-shaped tails coming out from her left side. She carries a trident and has a snake on her right arm (which might be the Seed of Unknown Form), and she wears a black wristband on her left wrist. Her dress is black with blue and white trims in the middle, a red bow on the front, and a small, yin-yang tomoe design at the bottom corner of her dress. She wears black thigh-high stockings and red shoes with bows on them. In most official artworks, she is drawn with pointed ears. She looks 14.

Appearances Games Undefined Fantastic Object

Nue's sprite in UFO

Sprite of Nue as a ball of light During the events of Undefined Fantastic Object, she found out that Minamitsu Murasa and the other youkai sealed underground resurfaced and were planning something. Not knowing exactly what, she decided to play a prank by putting the Seed of Unknown Form in the fragments of Flying Storehouse, one of the elements needed to revive Byakuren Hijiri. The snakes contained in the seeds caused the fragments to scatter into the air; the characters initially believe that the geyser from Subterranean Animism was the cause. These fragments are the UFOs that the player encounters during the game.

During stages 4 and 6, she hides her true form in a ball of light and observes the heroine collecting the storehouse fragments. She decides to secretly follow her, hindering her progress with bullet patterns and aiding her with power items and extra lives. Once she realizes what the plan of the other youkai is, she figures that the resurrection of Hijiri would benefit her and settles on helping the heroine. She appears in the Extra Stage in her true form during the heroine's investigation of the Seed of Unknown Form.

After Sanae B's scenario, it is implied that she and Sanae Kochiya have their picture taken by Aya Shameimaru.

Ten Desires Main articles: Ten Desires Reimu Arc, Marisa Arc, Sanae Arc, and Youmu Arc Nue Houjuu calls her "trump card" Mamizou Futatsuiwa from the outside world to defeat Toyosatomimi no Miko, though she is defeated by the heroine prematurely. Mamizou eventually encounters the heroine and is defeated.

Violet Detector She appears as an objective of the Nightmare Thursday along with Mamizou Futatsuiwa, Raiko Horikawa and Iku Nagae. She fights Sumireko Usami in the Skies of Gensokyo.

Spin-offs

Nue in HM Double Spoiler In Double Spoiler, Nue appears as a Stage 12 target, where she uses spell cards against Aya Shameimaru and Hatate Himekaidou as they photograph her danmaku.

Hopeless Masquerade Nue makes a background cameo in Hopeless Masquerade on the Palanquin Ship stage. She is seen floating behind the ship.

Literature Symposium of Post-mysticism Main article: Kakashi Spirit News 1 Hatate Himekaidou goes investigate after witnesses claimed to see a large fireball and a ten shaku tall alien in the side of Youkai Mountain. There, she finds out that both were the work of Nue, who was seen like that thanks to her ability while she was searching for the pieces of the flying vault.

Forbidden Scrollery In chapter 31 of Forbidden Scrollery, Nue is revealed to be the one who spread the rumor of a bull-headed monster that tells a story that would make its listener die of fright, wishing to turn it into an urban legend. She explained to Mamizou Futatsuiwa that she got the idea after seeing other members of the Myouren Temple use urban legends and wanted to join in on the fun. Due to the rumor causing a fear of the unknowable, Nue can benefit from a world of terror without lifting a finger. With the help of Mamizou's tanuki transforming into bull monsters, more and more villagers came to believe in the story until Reimu Hakurei spreads a flier claiming the bull-headed monster to be Gozu-Tennoh the bull-headed emperor and that the deadly story was a misunderstanding. In the end, though the rumor didn't develop quite as planned, Nue is still satisfied as something unknowable has still taken hold of the human villagers.

Minamitsu Murasa & Ichirin Kumoi Nue appears to have known Minamitsu Murasa and Ichirin Kumoi before the events of Undefined Fantastic Object.

Byakuren Hijiri Nue currently resides at Byakuren Hijiri's temple near the Human Village, because Byakuren was too nice to ostracize her.

Mamizou Futatsuiwa Mamizou Futatsuiwa is Nue's friend. Nue summons her during Ten Desires to defeat Toyosatomimi no Miko.

Minamitsu Murasa Very famously shipped together, because they're the best girls in all of Touhou