Former Salsu Of The Blade Lineage [] Aeng Du

Aeng Du: Aeng-du wears a Salsu outfit, common to the Blade Lineage Salsus - comprised of a black Dopo robe with white and red accents. Her long hair is neatly tied with a red hairband and adorned with two hair beads in red and white, mirroring the seemingly traditional colors associated with the Blade Lineage. As of joining Limbus Company's Distortion branch, she wears an LCD armband on her left arm, with her employee ID hanging across her chest from a lanyard. Aeng-du is a very loyal and determined person, willing to push herself through even extreme injuries for the sake of Bamboo-hatted Kim, the Blade Lineage's mentor. She has a lot of pride in being a member of the Blade Lineage and her relationship to both the Syndicate and its leader is a core part of her identity. When her understanding of her mentor is challenged, it shakes her and leaves her vulnerable to the Monolith's influences. As seen with her conversation with Yi Sang about their shared home District, she shares a kinship with others who have been forced to leave S Corp. behind.

Aeng-du was a resident of District 19 and member of the Blade Lineage, attempting to fight against the corruption found in the district. Eventually, they would be forced to leave for their safety, and the mentor of the Blade Lineage, Bamboo-hatted Kim, would lead them in search of a new home. While attempting to find territory to call their own, they came into conflict with the Kurokumo Clan and Bamboo-hatted Kim decided to accept an invitation from the Library to escape the other Syndicate. At the Library, Aeng-du and the other Blade Lineage members would be defeated and turned into books.

Shortly before meeting Limbus Company's Bus Branch, the Syndicate returned from their book forms and found themselves in the Backstreets of District 20, although not all would awaken in the same place. Aeng-du and a group of her fellow Blade Lineage members were separated from their mentor and, in their search for him, would run into the Kurokumo Clan and were forced to fight them. Despite their best attempts, the Blade Lineage was outnumbered and unprepared, leading to their near total defeat. Luckily for Aeng-du, the Sinners got involved with the fight while searching for information and, upon seeing her severely wounded state, Don Quixote requested that they fight to save the woman. Dante had a gut feeling that Aeng-du has the information they seek, so they brought her back to Mephistopheles after defeating the Kurokumo Clan members.

On the bus, Yi Sang treated Aeng-du's wounds and calmed her down when she assumed the Sinners are a threat to her. The two bond over both being from District 19 and she explained to him the story of the Blade Lineage and how she came to be here. Recalling those memories reminded her of how Bamboo-hatted Kim was still missing, making her urge the Sinners to make their way to the Yong-jin Building to help find her mentor. It turned out that Dante's assumption that she would be related to their mission was correct, and the group made their way to the building where they fought their way upwards past groups of Kurokumo Clan members. At the top floor, they ran into Jun, a Captain of the Kurokumo Clan, and Aeng-du drew her blade against him. Unfortunately, due to her extremely injured state from the earlier battles, she collapsed to the ground without landing a hit on him. The Sinners defeat Jun in battle, and Aeng-du recovered enough in the meantime to tie him up and interrogate him.

In this conversation with Jun, Aeng-du learned what happened when Bamboo-hatted Kim awoke from being a book. Jun explained that after witnessing the death of many of the Blade Lineage members that had appeared alongside him, the man began to cut down ally and foe alike. In order to protect his men, Jun decided to lock Bamboo-hatted Kim in the room and wait for the Thumb to arrive for the object the Kurokumo Clan was guarding before the sudden arrival of the Blade Lineage. This information shocks Aeng-du, but she still wanted to talk to her mentor in the hopes he can explain what happened. Following this, she knocks Jun unconscious and opened the door to find a distorted Bamboo-hatted Kim standing before her. He gave no response to her questions, and when she stepped too close, prepared to strike. Sinclair managed to push her out of his blade's path, saving her life, and the Sinners prepare to suppress the Distortion.

Inside the Fathoms of Bamboo-hatted Kim's ego, the group learned the truth of his past and Aeng-du begins to understand the circumstances that lead him to become the person that he is. The Sinners successfully suppress the Distortion and learn that the object the Kurokumo Clan was guarding is known as the Monolith and can influence nearby people to distort. With help from the LCD, Dante brought Bamboo-hatted Kim to his normal form. Aeng-du was still distraught over the fact he had cut down his fellows and drove her blade deep into her mentor's flesh. She mentions hearing a voice becoming more clear as she gets closer to distorting, and Dante quickly ordered Meursault to knock her out. This stops the process, and Aeng-du and Bamboo-hatted Kim were both taken by the LCA so that the LCD can study the Monolith's effects on them.

After being taken in by Limbus Company she officially joined the LCD as a member of the Distortion Task Force, and was present among the survivors of The House of Spiders's assault on the company's headquarters.

After being separated into groups due to the headquarter security systems locking the larger collective into smaller groups, Aeng-du was a part of a group consisting of her, Moses, Ezra, Rodion, Outis, and Ishmael. This group, with aims to suppress any rampant Abnormality, Distortion, or Peccatula, located deeper in the facility. Within the LCE research team security unit's room, the group witnessed a display of Matthias slaughtering LCA members, only to be surprised by Kira who watched alongside them. While she admonished Kira, the latter simply viewed Aeng-du as a reflection of a fellow fan of her beloved "The Cloudburst Blade", beginning a one-sided discussion of the media. This talk was immediately ceased, as Matthias came searching for his apprentice, prompting the LCD and company to begin an impromptu game of hide and seek with the apprentice after a brief confrontation with the Nursefather.

While hiding, Aeng-du prepared for an oncoming battle through acquiring one of Ezra's specialized Workshop-grade weapons, a Metzil Workshop broadsword. Soon after, Aeng-du is shocked by the ability of Matthias to instantly defeat Drenched Gossypium while it battled Kira. With few options left, and the Sinners present falling unconscious due to Dante's powers, Ezra, Moses, and Aeng-du prepare for battle with the Nursefather. Utilizing a combined effort of Moses abusing the latent Distortion within Matthias, a released Ambling Pearl dousing Matthias in paralytic slime, and Aeng-du and Ezra prepared to battle, they prepared an assault aiming to behead Matthias - they are unsuccessful, however, as the target utilizes a Moonlight Stone to free himself from Moses' shackles, both physically through her smoke and the mental of impending Distortion. In the brief moment of freedom, he fought back against the two attacking him, causing Aeng-du's arms to be severed, still holding her blade. Though Matthias viewed the effort as commendable, his opponents found the situation unwinnable; a feeling quelled soon after as Vespa, newly appointed to the role of a Color Fixer, began combat against the Nursefather to the point of a stalemate, where he is forced to abscond with Kira in tow.

Four days later, while preparing for the raid on the House of Spiders, Aeng-du was present to speak alongside the LCD team. Joining her faction alongside the rest in oncoming battle, she was comforted by Ezra with the notion to "think about what style of new arms she will want".

During The N Corp Situation:

After reports of a Distortion within N Corp.'s Backstreets, members of LCD were deployed to Butter Street, aiming to discover the cause for the reports. Among this group, Aeng-du and Bamboo-hatted Kim were deployed to assist. While the Sinners were initially caught off-guard by Kim's sudden change in demeanor from when they last saw him, Aeng-du explained the fact his personality was always so lax, he merely puts on a serious personality among strangers, something previously exacerbated by his declining mental state. Among the group, she played an important role in combatting the N Corp. employees, as well as having to track down Kim. While tracking information revolving around the local Distortion Flash Phenomenon, the area around the group was manifested to appear similar to the Backstreets of S Corp., distorted to fit Kim's angst. Aeng-du recognized this as the home District of her and her Mentor, though was confounded by its vague difference from reality.

Amidst the investigation, the group was repeatedly struggling to keep track of Bamboo-hatted Kim, leading to Aeng-du and Ezra's frequent frustration. After a momentary annoyance, however, he remained with the group as they located the screening room housing the Distortion, a projector showing the text of the Distortion victim's thoughts. While Aeng-du attempted to speak to her Mentor over her fears of his actions, she was interrupted as a manifestation of Im Gyeong-eop appeared as the group's next foe. During combat, the group grew exhausted by the frequent switching of foes between Flash Phenomenon's flashes, to which they decided to attempt forcing the Distortion into its Dungeon of the Fathoms. Dante deciphered and recited the code used to do this, allowing the group to travel inwards, leaving Ezra behind to deal with the N Corp. Feathers.

Within the fathoms, the group traversed the manifestations of Kim's past as he gradually came to re-experience the trauma that still haunted him. Here, Aeng-du learned about her Mentor's dear friend being a military commander of S Corp. This brought confusion to her, seeing him now as the leader of a wayward Syndicate, though he promised her she'll come to understand. Seeing the following memories of Kim being betrayed by the Right Councilor, as well as his jailing and subsequent freedom bestowed by Im Gyeong-eop, she found a deeper understanding of her Mentor.

Deeper within the fathoms, Kim was finally forced to confront the manifestation of Gyeong-eop. Aeng-du pushed him to remember her truer self, dampening the intensity of the manifestation. Even still, the group struggled in combat against the woman, unable to best her. Kim, seeing his chance, locked blades with the woman while orating his inevitable loss of their duel and death. Though Gyeong-eop accepted this, and the two readied their final clash, Aeng-du interfered. In a fit of anger towards her Mentor's readiness to die, she no longer held back her words, shaming him in his preparation to give up. Reminding him that the Blade Lineage never was created for him to take responsibility, she pushed her Mentor to reflect on his actions: after a brief dialogue with a certain voice, he found the will to continue on, temporarily manifesting E.G.O and managing to strike down the Im Gyeong-eop manifestation. With the Distortion defeated, the fathoms closed with the group being returned to their entry point, leaving only the fading manifestation of Im Gyeong-eop to behead the man behind Flash Phenomenon.

With the case resolved, albeit unexpectedly, Aeng-du was given a chance to remind her Mentor of the importance of his presence. Succumbing to her expectations, Kim agrees he will remain a frequent member of the LCD's jobs, allowing Aeng-du to release her grip on his robe's hem. Soon after, the group was forced into another situation, beginning with the arrest of Meursault.

Bamboo Hatted Kim:

amboo-hatted Kim is a tall man whose actual features remain hidden behind his clothing, and by his namesake, his signature bamboo hat. He wears the standardized Blade Lineage robes, which remain untied. Underneath the robes he wears a gray buttoned dress suit, white dress shirt, and a tucked red tie. He wears black gloves while carrying a Blade Lineage jikdo which is usually unsheathed, holding it in his right hand. He also wears gray dress pants and black dress shoes. His signature bamboo hat is damaged near the left side, revealing a blazing azure eye.

Under his bamboo hat, Kim has long, dark blue hair kept in a ponytail & azure eyes. Notably, and contrary to the Blade Lineage's pride, Kim has no visible scars on his skin. As a member of the LCD, his outfit remains the exact same, only with an employee card attached to the left side of his coat.

Under the influence of the Monolith as a Distortion, his form noticeably changes. His robes and dress attire grow more elongated, bloodied and ragged. His bamboo hat is now more damaged and there is a more notable intensity coming from his blazing blue eye. There is a more notable dark aura surrounding him as a Distortion, with his sheathe to his jikdo no longer present, as his sword is more elongated, bloodied and now shows cuts along the blade. He is also wearing a metal mask beneath his hat, with a resemblance to the face of a Dokkaebi (Korean goblin). His distorted form has several other qualities that allude to Dokkaebi, including the blue flame and his hat.

His E.G.O manifests as his signature bamboo hat, with his blade becoming significantly longer and curved, though worn and dirtied aswell. He also gains a new, blue scabbard with gold ornamentation. The blade is partially covered by a shifting, azure aura.

Bamboo-hatted Kim speaks rarely, though when he does, he does so in a rather solemn, verbose tone. Even when facing certain death or under influence of the Monolith, he continues to speak calmly, showing no sign of hesitation when in any of his battles. From his battle text and Key Page in his reception seen in Library Of Ruina, he speaks rather cryptically and often sees those without scars or sign of former injury in battle as a sign of cowardice, and does not permit them to join or train them in the Blade Lineage.

As a Distortion, his lack of emotion is more apparent. He purely shows his battle instinct as his only course of action is to strike and battle anything that comes within his sword's range.

When not under duress, however, he is far more casual than initial impressions of him seem. He describes himself as someone who simply goes with the flow, and is very lazy in temperament, often joking around and taking opportunities to slack off instead of working. However, he is also very observant, with a knack for intuition and identifying problems so he can nip them in the bud before they escalate. In truth, his actions are also a coping mechanism for the guilt he feels at his failure to make change in S Corp. and his perceived responsibility for the Blade Lineage's decimation, as well as his fear of continuing to carry on living with his dishonor.

In the past, Kim had a sharp wit and was adept at deliberately annoying his conversation partners, a trait he still possesses to a lesser degree in the present. He was also more diligent despite retaining his lackadaisical attitude, strictly abstaining from drink whenever on duty.

Prior to Limbus Company Like his followers in the Blade Lineage, Bamboo-hatted Kim originally came from S Corp.'s Nest. Originally a pursuant of the "path of the Brush", he passed the Royal Examination with flying colors but did not take up an official position, instead going into self-imposed exile in the Backstreets. The popular view was that this was because he had become disgusted by the corruption of his forebears.[1] However, his actions may have been driven more by the events of the examination, where he inadvertently shamed himself by writing an essay condemning a historical traitor to S Corp., whom Kim later realized was his own ancestor.[2]

At some point, he learned the Swordplay of the Homeland and managed to get back into the Nest, having been found by the Right State Councilor and hired as his bodyguard. Kim shared the councilor's ideals, wishing to undo the inequality that plagued S Corp. During his service, Kim met Im Gyeong-eop, the Military Commissioner of the Sal Circle, who found him throwing rocks at corrupt officials that she was hunting down. Despite coming from different Circles and Kim's attempts to aggravate her, the two would become friends and drinking partners.

One night, the Right State Councilor was beset upon by an army of assassins sent by the Left State Councilor. Kim killed many of them, but failed to stop them from breaching into the Councilor's private quarters. However, it would be revealed by one of the conspirators, Han Ho-bae, that the entire thing had been a set-up that the Right State Councilor had been in on: using a forged note and the Left State Councilor's private forces posing as assassins, they framed Kim for attempting to assassinate the Right State Councilor and slaughtering the "assassins", who were publicly declared as guards sent to protect the Right State Councilor's life. Betrayed by his councilor as part of the collusion to remove a threat to the Left State Councilor's plans, Kim was arrested and branded with the Mark of a Nobi, sapping his strength and robbing him of much of his swordplay prowess.

In prison, he was discovered by Im Gyeong-eop, who discreetly freed him and allowed him to flee, urging him to one day return to S Corp. with new allies and help uproot the Wing's corruption. Im herself would remain in S Corp., attempting to promote change and waiting for Kim's return to serve as a valuable ally from within the Wing's inner circle. Kim would flee S Corp. and eventually join the Blade Lineage, a Syndicate largely comprised of fellow S Corp. refugees. He would eventually become the Mentor of the Blade Lineage.

With his "spirit broken," and seeing that they had become little more than wandering vagabonds, Bamboo-hatted Kim tried to provide for his followers by finding a territory to settle down in, but all the places they went to were already occupied by other Syndicates. Eventually, Kim led his group to the Backstreets of T Corp, where they ended up in conflict with the Kurokumo Clan. In the midst of the fighting, he received an invitation from the Library. Believing it to be a better option for his followers, he accepted it only for all of them to be defeated in the Library's reception and turned into books.

Like other victims of the Library, Bamboo-hatted Kim returned from his book form back to the Backstreets of District 20 alongside Aeng-du and his other Blade Lineage followers, seemingly not long before the events of Intervallo III. Coincidentally, Bamboo-hatted Kim returned near the top floors of the Yong-jin Building, where a large number of Kurokumo Clan members were standing guard waiting to transport a Monolith as per orders of the Thumb. Surprised by their sudden appearance, the Kurokumo Clan engaged the Blade Lineage in fierce battle. Despite Bamboo-hatted Kim's prowess, the Blade Lineage members were overwhelmed by numbers and cut down one by one until only Kim and two others remained. Seeing his allies defeated and being in a vulnerable, traumatic position that "shook him to the core" (reminding him of his past failure in S Corp.), Bamboo-hatted Kim distorted. It is revealed by Jun that Kim proceeded to slay every living person in the room indiscriminately, excluding Jun himself, who escaped Kim's wrath and stood guard in front of the door to the room where the Monolith and Kim lay dormant in order to protect the rest of his men.

The Sinners eventually encountered Aeng-du, who was fighting the Kurokumo Clan elsewhere in T Corp's Backstreets and was looking for her mentor. The Sinners accompanied her, as they had been ordered to recover the Monolith. They eventually reached the Yong-jin Building and encountered Jun, who explained what has happened and refused to let them enter. Shortly after Jun was defeated, Aeng-du and the Sinners entered the room. Injured, Kim escaped to his fathoms, where his traumatic memories from S Corp. were manifested. After facing the Sinners and being defeated once more, dispelling the dungeon, the Monolith's influence on Kim weakened. With Dante successfully retrieving the Monolith, Bamboo-hatted Kim reverted to a normal human, yet was stabbed by Aeng-du behind a sofa as she could not bear to see Kim slaughtering his own students. After Meursault swiftly knocked out Aeng-du while she was beginning to distort, the LCA retrieved Kim and Aeng-du to be brought to the LCD to study them as both subjects of the Distortion and returnees from the Library.

During Recovery: Was completely well and steadily mentally stable, according to multiple sources.

During The N Corp Situation:

After reports of a Distortion within N Corp.'s Backstreets, members of LCD were deployed to Butter Street, aiming to discover the cause for the reports. Among this group, Aeng-du and Bamboo-hatted Kim were deployed to assist. While the Sinners were initially caught off-guard by Kim's sudden change in demeanor from when they last saw him, Aeng-du explained the fact his personality was always so lax, he merely puts on a serious personality among strangers, something previously exacerbated by his declining mental state. Among the group, she played an important role in combatting the N Corp. employees, as well as having to track down Kim. While tracking information revolving around the local Distortion Flash Phenomenon, the area around the group was manifested to appear similar to the Backstreets of S Corp., distorted to fit Kim's angst. Aeng-du recognized this as the home District of her and her Mentor, though was confounded by its vague difference from reality.

Amidst the investigation, the group was repeatedly struggling to keep track of Bamboo-hatted Kim, leading to Aeng-du and Ezra's frequent frustration. After a momentary annoyance, however, he remained with the group as they located the screening room housing the Distortion, a projector showing the text of the Distortion victim's thoughts. While Aeng-du attempted to speak to her Mentor over her fears of his actions, she was interrupted as a manifestation of Im Gyeong-eop appeared as the group's next foe. During combat, the group grew exhausted by the frequent switching of foes between Flash Phenomenon's flashes, to which they decided to attempt forcing the Distortion into its Dungeon of the Fathoms. Dante deciphered and recited the code used to do this, allowing the group to travel inwards, leaving Ezra behind to deal with the N Corp. Feathers.

Within the fathoms, the group traversed the manifestations of Kim's past as he gradually came to re-experience the trauma that still haunted him. Here, Aeng-du learned about her Mentor's dear friend being a military commander of S Corp. This brought confusion to her, seeing him now as the leader of a wayward Syndicate, though he promised her she'll come to understand. Seeing the following memories of Kim being betrayed by the Right Councilor, as well as his jailing and subsequent freedom bestowed by Im Gyeong-eop, she found a deeper understanding of her Mentor.

Deeper within the fathoms, Kim was finally forced to confront the manifestation of Gyeong-eop. Aeng-du pushed him to remember her truer self, dampening the intensity of the manifestation. Even still, the group struggled in combat against the woman, unable to best her. Kim, seeing his chance, locked blades with the woman while orating his inevitable loss of their duel and death. Though Gyeong-eop accepted this, and the two readied their final clash, Aeng-du interfered. In a fit of anger towards her Mentor's readiness to die, she no longer held back her words, shaming him in his preparation to give up. Reminding him that the Blade Lineage never was created for him to take responsibility, she pushed her Mentor to reflect on his actions: after a brief dialogue with a certain voice, he found the will to continue on, temporarily manifesting E.G.O and managing to strike down the Im Gyeong-eop manifestation. With the Distortion defeated, the fathoms closed with the group being returned to their entry point, leaving only the fading manifestation of Im Gyeong-eop to behead the man behind Flash Phenomenon.

With the case resolved, albeit unexpectedly, Aeng-du was given a chance to remind her Mentor of the importance of his presence. Succumbing to her expectations, Kim agrees he will remain a frequent member of the LCD's jobs, allowing Aeng-du to release her grip on his robe's hem. Soon after, the group was forced into another situation, beginning with the arrest of Meursault.