 |
WARNING! |
Engen (엔겐), also known as the Smiling Man, is the deuteragonist of Hero Killer. He is the leader of the villain organization known as the Nameless 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 refuses to give up as he wishes to defeat the mysterious Witch who gave him his iconic scar and destroy the Hero Clan.
Towards the end of the Invasion of Castle Gray, Engen has became the newest member of the Elders, the nine strongest Gift users in the world, after defeating Reagan Sinclair and has taken 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 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[]
| “ | ” | |
— Ihwa on Engen as she meets him. | ||
Engen is a very handsome man, with short light brown hair and grey eyes. Despite his youthful appearance, he is very old, having been born in the era after the Chaotic Era over a century ago. He has a large scar on the left side of his face and neck, given to him by The Iron Witch, resulting in his moniker the "Smiling Man".
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. Although only shown underneath bandages at the most, he has an athletic physique. Engen usually 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 has become more twisted as time passed. [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 when 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 as shown when commanding the Nameless with respectable authority and charisma that doesn't rely 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 his threatening 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, Engen is shown to honor all those who helped him along the way in the path of becoming powerful in his own twisted way but has no regrets in having used them. Whenever in combat, he is incredibly rational and intelligent not getting easily fazed or even scared when facing powerful opponents like the Elders.
History[]
Engen during his childhood.
Engen's entire early life is currently a mystery, but he was mostly likely born after the end of Chaotic Era.
Engen and Chain during their youth.
Around his childhood and early teens, Engen decided to join the King of Nera's followers but it's unknown if he willingly chose to follow the king or if he was abducted. He met another candidate named Chain and befriended him during this period. [3]
Engen wielding Chain in the War of Inheritance.
Eventually, the King's power reached its limit as his body could no longer handle the capabilities of The Torch, so he gathered his strongest followers, among them Engen, to make a proposition. Whoever conquered the most districts would inherit everything that he had, and the War of Inheritance had begun. Engen teamed up with Chain and was one of the leading candidates among the heirs during which he took over and conquered Cloud Garden. It's assumed that Engen came to know The Butcher or heard about her infamous acts towards the district lords during this period. The war lasted until Engen and Chain reached adulthood, Islotta Rainfall's death, and the king eventually dying.
Engen, Chain with Abyss and Nugal.
He met and befriended Abyss Dancer and Nugal, two powerful Gift users who swore their loyalty to him as they grew to love his boldness and conviction during this period of war and strife.[4]
Engen eventually won the succession and was crowned the second king of Nera. In the following three days after he assumed the throne and was ready to inherit the The Torch, a mysterious woman appeared who called herself The Steel Witch. She would kill everyone in the area in a mere second and destroy the Torch. Engen would clash against this powerful woman but was overwhelmingly defeated. The Witch, in a mocking tone, asked why he had such a gloomy expression on his face and decided to put a "smile" on it, giving him an incurable iconic scar on his face. She then disappeared. [5]
The Steel Witch giving Engen his scar.
Engen after his defeat at The Steel Witch's hands.
Engen, defeated and humiliated by the Witch, wouldn't give up. Nera, while no longer at its peak, was still strong enough to fight for a place of dominance in the world. [6] After the time in which the Witch defeated him, certain rumors started to spread around the same time. A man known as the Skysword had gained the attention of the world after he killed numerous district lords and defeated one of the Elders, Yushin in a duel. The Skysword had gained enough power to establish an organization called the Hero Clan based around his fame. It was only a matter of time until the clan, having operated underneath the banner of justice, clashed with Engen and the remaining remnants of Nera in what would be called the War of the Reeds or the Great War.
Engen fought on the frontlines in numerous battles as he slaughtered dozens of heroes and opponents during the war. [7] In one such battle, a fighter for the clan named Jeremy Bernstein witnessed his actions as the hero hid while observing Engen fighting [8].
It was around this time that Engen started to be referred to as the Smiling Man with his scar mimicking an ever-present smile or smirk on his face. It's assumed that Engen met Yushin in this period as the former Elder was sympathetic to the Villains and also saved Chain's life at one point in the war. [9] But eventually Engen and his forces were defeated once again after losing two major battles. The word of "Nera" ceased to exist with the clan banning its name after their victory. Engen's activities in the decades following his loss and the coming Age of Heroes and Villains aren't fully known as he disappeared from the public eye with many assuming he had died in the war.
Engen appearing in Castle Gray.
Resurfacing again, Engen once traveled to Castle Gray and met a young girl named Rachel Sinclair whom he saved from her torturers after killing them. He didn't ask any questions like why she tried to leave the snow-covered wasteland or why Rachel looked like she wanted to die. After making a grave for her mother and uncle, Rachel had wondered what the man was doing in the Castle Gray, and the Smiling Man answered that he had attempted to reach a clan twice before but failed both times. And that was why he was preparing for his third attempt against them while smiling with an eerie smirk.
Engen and Rachel.
Seeing Rachel's potential, Engen decided to take her under his wing and raise her, promising to help her achieve revenge against her biological father Reagan Sinclair, the Mad Elder.[10]
Engen and Rachel crossing the Forest together.
The two would then cross the Forest of Immortals, a large dark forest that surrounds the entire district. Thanks to Engen, they were able to go through the haunted forest safely while avoiding the monsters that dwelt there. [11]
What the two did together isn't fully known but the former king of Nera is assumed to have taught Rachel everything that she knows about how to use her Gift as well as on how to fight.
During this period of time, Engen started recruiting survivors, outcasts, or those with grudges against the Hero Clan amongst the Villains. He met Vector, a former scientist of the clan, who had offered his services in exchange for witnessing and playing a role in his plans, his partner John Nash, and Baek-Ji, a young Gift user with a grudge against the Hero Clan's leader. This gathering of individuals started to be referred to as the Nameless, survivors of the war amongst a new generation of villains.
Story[]
District 17 Assault Arc[]
Engen and the Nameless watch Hero Killer's fight with Chaos and Viper. Rachel wonders if saving her is worth catching the attention of the Hero Clan but Engen answers that there's strength in numbers and that Hero Killer is quite an asset.
Hero Candidate Arc[]
The Torch Arc[]
Nostra City Arc[]
Assault on Castle Gray Arc[]
Battles & Events[]
| Battles & Events |
Past
|
Trivia[]
- Engen shares the same birthday with Bishop despite the huge age gap between them.
- It's unknown if Engen personally knew Islotta Rainfall.
- Engen is one of three 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.
References[]
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 5
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 111
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 111
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 86
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 16
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 111
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 5
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 24
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 14
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 20
- ↑ Hero Killer Episode 127
[]
| Villains | |
|---|---|
| Independents | Hero Killer • Yushin • Pudding • Chain • Rendo • Nugal • Silver Knight • Voltaire • |
| New Nera | Smiling Man • Rachel Sinclair • Vector • John Nash • Baek-Ji • Abyss Dancer • Puppeteer • SJ • Needles • Hound • Orange-Haired Man • Mind Shocker |
| The Nameless | Nenya • |
| Jintae's Gang | Jintae Yang • Sapphire • Condor • Daemon |
| Vendetta | Tokata • Scar • Dave • |
| Gold-Blood Gang | Office Staff • Rezo Gold-Blood • |
| Ex-Villains | Hekate • |
| Groups and Gangs | Old Nera • The Nameless • New Nera • Gold-Blood Gang • Dusty Cloaks |
| Defunct | Jintae's Gang • Vendetta • |
| Elders | |
|---|---|
| Current | Victoria • Bishop • Prim Anville • Master of the Clan • Engen • Owl • Milen Kula |
| Hidden | TBS |
| Former Members | Yushin • Reagan Sinclair |