| “ | “You wanna piece of this? If so, you’ll have to excuse me for a second.” | ” |
Daku, (だく) also known as the Black Ripper, is a minor antagonist and protagonist in the story Hyperdimension Neptunia: Re;Start.
Daku is a genetically modified superhuman. He was unwillingly experimented upon by X-Laws before becoming a union. He was originally thought to be a failed experiment until his latent powers were awakened by the crystal. Daku’s body is genetically modified to be a regenerator, a superhuman able to fight supernatural creatures. He serves as the foil to Zero, as an antagonist and type of anti-villain in the series in the story of RE:start.
Appearance[]
Daku is a large, powerfully built man with long, dark spiky black hair, a small stubbled beard, and blue eyes. He wears what appears to be a cape draped over his shoulders donning a monocle, bandages around both his arms and one around his abdomen. His trousers are a dark grey, wearing a brown belt with a large silver buckle, to one of his two belts.
He also has a deep scar hidden beneath his left eye, and black combat boots with steel toecaps.
Personality[]
More crazed and psychopathic than one could believe, Daku was nothing short of a twisted sadist. He fully enjoyed wanton slaying and hunting people for sport. Despite possessing a Crystal and being utterly devoid of any positive emotion, Daku was fully mentally capable, being clearly able to devise cunning strategies to give him an advantage in combat. He was also somewhat sharp and intelligent, being able to discern Zero as not being human after he dodged one of his attacks.
In the beginning, Daku was a barbarically sadistic individual, as he only experienced any real joy out of his opponents helplessness and scared emotions. He was shown to be extremely maniacal and only wanted destruction. He was even willing to kill just to prove that he isthe strongest. His main goal was to have the CPUs suffer. However, because of his crystal taking a toll on his mental state, he came back to normal after Zero ended up shattering his crystal.
After quitting alliances with Arfoire, he is on the good side. He becomes more mature and wiser. He is best friends with Neptune and her gang, but he got fed up with them trying to get close to him. In the story, he is much more friendlier and talks a lot more than he does than he did before. However even before joining the CPUs and before he eventually went insane, he was shown to have harbored a kinder side. Now he is known to be one of the more serious characters in the show compared to the energetic Zero. He now serves under the guild with the title of Ex-Mercenary.
Powers and Abilities[]
Owing to his Drive, Daku is a ruthless and deadly combatant. Berserker, an ability which specializes in boosting magic that increases his physical attributes. He can also create shockwaves with his fists, meaning he can fight at both short and long-range. Despite his size, he is surprisingly agile. In conquest to this, he also has the ability to turn his weapons into sharp blades which are laced with extremely powerful wounding magic making any wound they inflict impossible for unions to heal against. He is fast, his speed and Drive make for a deadly combination, and his vast experience in both hunting and fighting his prey make him much stronger than his appearance would suggest.
Daku’s formidable power is neither technological when in use of his magic abilities. He possesses an inhuman amount of natural strength, even without the need for a weapon and casually brushes off even the most extreme of physical trials. It is revealed that during his first encounter with the group, the monocle that adorns his left eye is actually a limiter called Cursed Eye, meant to restrict the bulk of his power so as to not kill his opponents too quickly. Daku’s true level of power is debatable, but it is safe to say that he is one of the most powerful individuals in the Neptunia universe even with his limiter active,
Daku carries with him three to 4 swords in different sheathes that hang to his left side. The smallest sword is a Kodachi, while the other two are Uchigatana with red blades, the last being an Odachi. He also has a pair of dual-wielding swords that he carries when in combat. The sword's handle is surrounded by a large semicircle that separates it from the blade. He uses his right arm to wield one of these blades at a time, swinging only twice with a blade before returning it to its respective sheathe. His left arm is a monstrous maw which can be used to bite and crush opponents at a whim - if this is not enough then Daku will likely stab at them with one of his swords as they're being crushed by the limb. This maw is capable of firing a beam of energy at opponents from a range. Just one swing of his blades is enough to destroy an entire wave of unions.
Character Report[]
One of the main antagonists and deuteragonists, Daku has made it his life's work to define what it means to be one of the strongest. A sadistic serial killer who worked under the alias of "Mad Dog", he was wanted worldwide. He was classed as an SS grade criminal. Daku’s spirit was not contaminated by his Crystal and thus, he showed no irregularities. He is one of three known Phase 0 Unions, also known as "Strange Red".