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"Now now, how would you like to end?" |
Nicola Adel is a supporting character in The Guild War, The Guild War: Conclusion, The Guild War: Reconstruction and Whispers of Purgation: Last Words. He is the marshal and only member of the former Forbidden Guild, one of the five guilds that rule Isunia. As of The Guild War: Reconstruction, he succeeds Marlone Median as the marshal of Eschamali.
Nicola is a leader of the Shadowcraft class, but is not currently playable outside of the Story Mode.
Personality[]
Nicola tends to be lazy, aloof and unmotivated, preferring to sleep most of the time. However, he is also quite gentle despite his imposing stature and strength, being able to make friends with Luna. He is also observant of others, determining both Rowen Dragespear and Luna were suffering from their powers and offered to help in his own way. Due to the trauma endured in his initial home world, he once thought of himself as a "monster," and wished to die despite his cyborg body making that nearly impossible. Thanks to the bonds he forms with Luna, Marlone and others in Isunia, he eventually overcomes this and begins to see himself as a human being.
Story[]
History[]
Nicola and Marlone enjoying a meal together.
Nicola Adel was originally from the magic-poor world Aiolon, a "mutant" with abnormally large reserves of mana in his body. Unable to control his power, especially when his emotions ran wild, everyone around him considered him a monster. All except his father, a former captain of the royal guard, who taught him ways to control his magic. After becoming an adult and struggling to control his still-growing mana reserves, Nicola went on to serve in the royal guard alongside his father.
When Belphomet began his takeover of Aiolon, Nicola arrived when his father was trying to prevent the king from being killed. However, his father ended up sacrificing his life to prevent one of Belphomet's enforcers from killing Nicola. Belphomet would eventually kill Nicola as well, however, Nicola was revived by turning him into an android like many other royal guards. After many tortuous experiments, Nicola was the only one left alive, but Belphomet would end up dismissing him as a failure as well. Still, he decided to give him one last use as a test subject for his interdimensional travel device.
Nicola ended up transported to Isunia, at first without much recollection of how or why. Tired of his altered body and unknown fate, he decided to end his life. As Nicola was about to go through with his decision, Marlone appeared and convinced him not to end his life. Over time, the two became close friends, to the point where after Marlone's death, Nicola succeeds him as Eschamali's marshal.
The Guild War[]
Nicola spent most of his time alone in the hills outside Isunia. There, he encounters Rowen with whom he has a brief fight due to a misunderstanding until both agree that they are not looking to fight.
While half-sleep, he is approached by Luna and inadvertently attacks her in his dreams. Upon waking up, he is surprised by the girl's necromancy powers and although he apologizes for what she did to her, Luna leaves upset, and Nicola decides to follow her for her safety. After saving her from a monster wolf, Nicola jumps her to the center of Isunia where they meet up with Marlone. Seeing Luna fight a magical lifeform, they conclude that she has not mastered her necromantic powers. After cheering her up and feeding her, Nicola takes her through the town where they end up with Isabelle. She attacks Nicola believing him to be dangerous, although none of her magic affects him. Luna makes it clear that Nicola is not bad, and she decides to remain by his side.
The two suddenly run into Urias who is looking to fight Nicola, so he asks Luna to go with Marlone. After ending the fight inconclusively, Nicola crosses paths with Rowen again and the two decide to have a confrontation to help Rowen control the power of the curse from him. As Rowen passes out, Nicola reunites with Luna and the two fight a pair of possessed members from another guild. As the two decide to return to the hill, Nicola tells Luna about her powers and shows her that in order to control them she must also control her emotions. Luna tells him about how lonely she feels and reluctantly, Nicola agrees to be her friend. Back on the hill, the two decide to play hide and seek until Luna is attacked by a guild assassin, so Nicola saves her.
A great noise is heard from the town to which Nicola confirms that it is the beginning of a war.
The Guild War: Conclusion[]
As the war escalates, the citizens of Isunia are put in the crossfire, Rowen finds both Nicola and Luna still on the hill. Nicola senses something is wrong and asks Rowen to escort Luna to Marlone for her safety. As they leave Nicola spots Maisha. He reveals that Maisha is also not originally from Insunia.
Nicola confronts Maisha and the two begin fighting. As the battle is going on, an explosion is seen in the distance where the Eschamali headquarters is located. Nicola recognizes that Marlone is dead and releases his frustration at Maisha. Maisha mocks Nicola’s emotional outburst before defeating him, leaving him injured and unconscious in the field.
Luna returns to the hill after the battle and sees Nicola on the ground, unsure if he is still alive. Luna begins crying over death of everyone around her, traumatized from her own childhood memories. Maisha’s mind controlled Bladerights attempt to ambush her as she’s breaking down. Nicola, awakened by Luna's crying, gets up and helps takes out the Bladerights. After a heartfelt conversation, Luna and Nicola decide to chase after Maisha, realizing that Maisha would target Eleanor.
As everyone reaches Eleanor, Maisha appears. Yuwan and Arisa demand to know the reason why Maisha is causing this war. Maisha reveals she has been plotting to summon the keeper, Nerva, all along since she’s arrived in Isunia. Setus shows up to attempt stop Maisha only to be surrounded by Maisha's Bladerights. With everyone except Urias injured from constant fighting, Maisha is able to slip away. Luna and Nicola finally show up to help. Nicola and Eleanor tell the others to chase after Maisha and that they will hold back the Bladerights under Maisha’s control. Setus, Arisa, Luna, and everyone else goes after her.
After Nicola and Eleanor finish fighting Maisha's Bladerights, the two go to help the others fight Maisha. Nicola is able to land a strong hit and goes in for the killing blow before Setus suddenly stops him. Everyone is startled as Setus confesses that he was in love with Maisha and can’t allow anyone to kill her. Setus then tells everyone that he has the responsibility as a Bladerights, and as the one who helped Maisha when she first appeared in Isunia, to be the one to kill her. Setus then declares himself the new Marshal of the Bladerights guild as she dies in his arms.
After the war is over, Luna is forced to say goodbye to Nicola. Nicola tells her to stay safe and that they will always be friends, even if they are in different worlds.
The Guild War: Reconstruction[]
Nicola after becoming the new marshal of Eschamali.
After the war, Nicola became the new leader of Eschamali. The Forbidden Guild has been dissolved as it technically has no members anymore. Despite becoming the new leader of Eschamali, he only views himself as a figurehead, and leaves majority of the labor to the other members to deal with. However, the members of Eschamali see him as a real leader. With the loss of Marlone, their temple, and a majority of their members during the war. Eschamali has become an insurance company and is helping the people of Isunia recover.
On the day of a Guild assembly Nicola has to help the people Isunia and Eschamali fight off a bunch of magical life forms and uses up almost all of his magic. Nichola determines the lifeforms are far weaker and docile than the ones made by the Magis Covenant and asks the townsfolk for help destroying the harmless pests before heading the guild meeting.
Nichola, exhausted from clearing out the magical lifeforms, makes his way to the Guild assembly being held in Magis Convenant and runs into Setus. As Eleanor arrives to start the meeting, the Bladerights’s Second Squad Captain breaks into the building and reveals himself a traitor working for a foreign invader and is the mastermind behind the magical life forms outbreak to tire the Guild leaders out so he can kill all of them to collect a bounty on them and start a new life in another country. The traitor's also reveals that he stole both sword of truth and lies, destroyed Nicola’s ore stockpile and hijacked Eleanor’s magical life form, including one capable of competing with even Eleanor. Seeing Nicola fall the traitor thinks he won only to be shocked when Nicola got back up moments later after eating the ores Eleanor had prepared and destroys the rouge officer's magical lifeform. The three Guild leaders reveal that they were informed by Countersolari about the traitor, and this was all a trick to lure him out.
With the foreign invader that hired the traitor chased out of Isunia by Countersolari, the traitor is left with no other choice to use both the swords of truth and lies only to failed and begged for his life and was knocked out by Setus to be punished at a later date. With the traitor out of the way, the three Guild marshals reflect on what they learned from this and assume their meeting. The meeting ends with them all agreeing on rebuilding the waterways with Nicola and Setus assigned most of the heavy lifting.
Whispers of Purgation: Last Words[]
One of Eleanor's experiments meant to protect Isunia from interdimensional threats, fails to work properly and causes damage to the town square, to the irritation of Setus and Nicola. The three guild marshals further the discussion in private where Eleanor assures the others that despite her experiment's failure, her work toward it has yielding benefits, such as creating a way to teleport anywhere in Isunia and the creation of valuable crystals that can be sold for high prices or eaten by Nicola for power. Eleanor adds she is also building another device called the Tidegate that will allow travel to other worlds thanks to a device Nicola kept from before he was sent to Isunia. The guild marshals then discuss an upcoming festival to celebrate Isunia's recovery after the war Maisha started. However, the meeting is interrupted by news of a sigil appearing in the sky and mechanical invaders.
Eleanor uses her magic to observe events and discovers the Aegis has been taken, Setus rallies Nicola and Eleanor and comes up with a plan for the bladerights to evacuate the citizens while Nicola and Eleanor fend off the machines.
After Nicola destroys the machines chasing her the Eschamali member explains the guild raced to retrieve the crystals for Nicola so he would be at full strength before giving the crystals to him and leaving join the evacuation. After destroying all the machines near him, Nicola regroups with Eleanor and Setus, the latter from confirms the citizens are all evacuated and safe. Suddenly, the Furies arrive and realizing they are far stronger then the other machines, Eleanor asks Nicola to buy her time to give Setus an opening. Nicola is barely able to fend off the Furies, but he lasts long enough for Eleanor to use her magic to pin them and Setus to defeat them off with the blades. After taking down the Furies, Setus is drained of much strength as a side effect of not yet mastering the blades. In a last-ditch attempt to defeat the Guild Marshals, the Furies attempt to self-destruct, but Eleanor is not concerned, realizing their friends have come to help them.
Isabelle and Luna arrive and the former creates a barrier that protects everyone from the Furies' explosion with the help of the bracelet Arisa gave them. Luna reunites with a grateful Nicola while Isabelle catches up with Eleanor.
Nicola realizes the only way to stop the machines is to defeat Belphomet and Isabelle and Eleanor create a barrier to give them time to think of a plan. Eleanor reveals she will be able to transport a single person to Belphomet with her improved teleportation magic and proses that Nicola should be the one to fight, something Nicola was already planning to do. Nicola reveals Belphomet rebuilt his dead body and revived him as a cyborg, and that he has business to settle with him. He also reveals he has a plan to defeat him and tells it to others, but it is risky. Everyone agrees to trust Nicola and Isabelle gives him a short boost in strength with her magic.
Nicola and Belphomet meet each other again for the first time in years and the latter believes it will be impossible for Nicola, one of his creations, to surpass its creator and unveils the Aegis he stole. Belphomet reveals that Nerva ordered him to destroy the Aegis, but he kept it for himself to use it against Nerva and discover her real goal. Nicola plows through the machine and vows to defeat Belphomet, not for revenge, but to protect his new home. He eats every mana crystal Eschamali saved and removes his body's limiter to unleash his full might against Belphomet. However, Belphomet reveals the new power Nerva gave him, the power of "joy" which neutralizes all attacks that threatens the user and their joy. Unable to harm Belphoment, Nicola is overpowered and Belphomet finishes completing the Aegis, but Nerva's hold on him prevents him from using it. Remembering the promise he made, Nicola rises to fight once more and Belphomet tells him again that a creator like him can never be surpassed by his creator. Nicola rebuts that he didn't create him, because he is human. Belphomet's power of Joy fails to endure Nicola's assault and Nicola tells Belphomet he doesn't trust anything but himself because his afraid to; afraid of the unknown. The two have one last clash that ends with both of them mortally wounded. Conceding defeat, Belphoet leaves behind the Aegis he completed before he dies. Nicola falls soon after, thinking of Luna.
In limbo, Nicola wonders if he will be able to see the others again. In Isunia, Luna finds Nicola's body and uses her necromancy powers to revive his soul. The rest arrive soon after, glad to see Nicola's plan of sacrificing himself to defeat Belphomet and having Luna revive him worked despite the incredible gamble it was. Eleanor retrieves the Aegis Belphomet modified and after Nicola explains that Belphomet was planning to use it to learn Nerva's true goal, she gives it to Isabelle for safe keeping. Nicola also revealed that Belphomet told him the other vessels, including Maisha, were revived as well. As everyone leaves to start working, Nicola reflects that he finally knows he has a soul, something Eleanor personally confirms.
Card Appearances[]
- Nicola, Forbidden Strength
- Forbidden Art
- Nicola, Enduring Steward
- Guild Assembly
- Balance and Obliteration
- Inherited Balance
- Shared Goal
- Succession of Balance
- Nicola, Unauthorized Hope
- Forbidden Power
Trivia[]
- In Japanese, Nicola shares a voice actor (Ryōta Ōsaka) with Ryoga Jasei.