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Name: Erika Saezima / Exceed Valkyrie Freya
Gender: Cis
Sex: Female
Age: 17
Appearance:
Human Form: Erika appears to be a moderately-attractive girl on the cusp of adolescence and adulthood. Her jet-black hair reaches down to her waist and hangs loosely over her back. Her eyes are round and vividly purple. They give off the impression of being expressive, if Erika expressed anything but calm collectedness, lighthearted pleasantness and determination. She is of above-average height, standing around 5'7'', and her build lies somewhere between having curves in all the right places and being thin. On her skin, there is scarcely a mark- a sign of the advanced technology/magic blend used in the surgery that granted Erika her powers. She generally wears a denim jacket over a white short-sleeved shirt, a small brown beret to go with the denim jacket and thin black pants with brown boots; if one didn't know of Erika's past or secret activities, they might mistake her for a pretty young woman, with nothing else of note about her.

While transforming, silver particles of Soul Metal materialise around the air and form the various pieces of protective gear required for Erika to operate. This happens while transforming into Armored Form or if Erika transforms directly into Exceed Form.

Exceed Valkyrie Freya:
-Level One: Armored Form: Armored Form Freya is the armored shocktrooper form that Erika was first given when undergoing the surgery to become a Slave Knight. In this form, Erika is completely covered in dark silver plates of armor, with a purple, shining crystal set upon the waist of the armor and in the middle of the chestplate. The helmet is shaped akin to a fearsome wolf's head, albeit with no mouth. Glowing lines run throughout the armor, where a combination of magic and electricity run throughout the armor, transferring power through it. The plates are tough and hard to the touch, though seemingly pulsing, as if it were alive. The armor has two layers beneath, an undersuit visible in her Exceed Form and a black undersuit made of flexible metal chain. The metal that comprises the Exceed Valkyrie armor is dubbed Soul Metal, a special alloy infused with magic that reacts to the wearer's will, allowing it to move and transform in response to sheer determination. In this form, Erika is heavily protected from damage and is about as strong as a weakened Holy Knight, but is slower and weaker than her Exceed Form. Along the front of the chest, the words "Armored Gear 01" are embossed.

Erika may transform from Armored Form into Exceed Form, or transform directly into Exceed Form given sufficiently dire circumstances.

-Level Two: Exceed Form: Exceed Form Freya is the unique, lightly-armored form that Erika created after escaping her captors. The undersuit of the armor is visible in this form, with a white, form-fitting halter covering Erika's chest, with purple stripes running down the sides of the halter. Black Soul Metal still remains in this form, with a dark silver chestpiece holding the purple chest crystal in place. From the waist below, this form resembles the Armored Form, though less heavily armored; only the shinguards, greaves and hipguards remain, mostly exposing the black undersuit, though a metal brace with the purple waist crystal remains. Her helmet is gone now, except for the front piece, which retracts into two silver pieces of metal on her temples and beneath her chin, exposing her face; when necessary, the mask expands, covering her face once more. Two silver rods extend from the back, releasing purple projections in the shape of wings that allow Erika to fly. In this form, Erika is less protected and far more vulnerable to damage than her Armored Form, but possesses the strength to fight a Holy Knight on par and is capable of going at high speeds due to the projected wings she possesses.

Weapon:
Weapon: Esperanza [Daemon Intelligence 01]
Wielded By: Erika Saezima (Stolen from Yewfelle)
Appearance: Esperanza consists of two components; the original sword Esperacchius and the upgrades made to it by Yewfelle and THORN. The hilt and back of the blade are what remains of the original blade, the hilt being a firm silver handle with an reinforced grip. The blade is shattered several inches up the length, but there remains enough of the blade to make Esperanza a decent weapon, even as a short sword. However, the expansions made to it turn it into a very effective magitek weapon. The crossguard has been replaced with two energy projectors, allowing magic to be pumped into the blade to turn the broken Sword of Hope into a laser blade. In Erika's hands, the blade's color is purple; other wielders produce different colors. Similarly, the original blade is protected by a silver guard that can be retracted to stab an opponent with it, with the brand "DAEMON INTELLIGENCE-01" printed across both sides. Various wires and miniaturised devices have also been installed into the hilt and crossguard, and the blade possesses the ability to extend the hilt, transforming it into a lance. The resulting blade isn't too large, measuring about as large as a longsword in sword form. What it doesn't have in size, it makes up in destructive capability.
History: Esperacchius, in ancient times, was named so because the sword was powered by hope and determination. Indeed, the blade was one of several blades used to fight corrupted Holy Knights by the few Holy Knights who remained loyal to the people they were sent to protect. These swords were sentient, and were capable of reacting to the wishes of their wielders, allowing them to be capable of great feats. However, the former wielder of Esperacchius was slain in battle against the Holy Knight Yewfelle, the sword shattered in his death throes. Yewfelle took his prize, forging it back together with black magics and crystals, turning it into Verzwei, the Sword of Despair. Esperacchius despaired and railed against this, but was powerless due to the modifications Yewfelle made to it, ever-increasing as technology did. Esperacchius was put to terrible uses until Yewfelle was slain himself against Erika, who took his sword while fighting him. Esperacchius, sensing the determination within Erika, bonded with her immediately and Erika rechristened the sword Esperanza.
Properties:
Laser Blade: Esperanza is a blade made from magical energy. Physical and magical barriers alike are no match for Esperanza.
Transform Weapon: Esperanza may shift into a ranged form to blast enemies with magic, or a spear form to allow Erika to fight at range.
Escalating Power: Esperanza reacts to the wielder's wishes due to being created from a prototype alloy to Soul Metal and increases in power as Erika's will to fight does. If Erika's determination reaches high enough, Esperanza may once more reach the heights it was at before, achieving a new form.

Weapon: Exceed Valkyrie Gear [Armored Gear 01]
Wielded By: Erika Saezima
Appearance: See Erika's appearance.
History: One of the first Armored Gears, constructed by THORN to equip their Slave Knights with. It was stolen by Erika in her escape of the THORN facility near Fuumo and since repurposed.
Properties:
Henshin: Allows Erika to transform into Exceed Valkyrie Freya.
Cast Off/Put On: The Gear can transform from Armored to Exceed Forms and vice versa, allowing Erika to adapt to all situations.
Toughened Carapace (Armored Form): The Gear is incredibly resistant to damage while Erika is in Armored Form. Even incredibly powerful attacks will not dent it.
Flight (Exceed Form): The Gear is capable of flight while in Exceed Form, powered by magical energy.
Escalating Power: The Armored Gear reacts to Erika's wishes and increases in power as Erika's will to fight does. If her determination reaches a certain point, the Armored Gear may acquire a new form.

Powers:
Sheer Determination: Erika is incredibly determined, capable of breaking through anything with sufficient effort. Even mortal wounds cannot keep her down for long.
Augmentation: Erika's ability to regenerate from wounds, general ability to take damage and strength has been increased as a result of her augmentation.
Exceed Shift: Through sufficient focus of determination, Erika is capable of great feats with her abilities, allowing her to pull off impossible stunts, such as carrying on fighting when out of energy. However, determination can only carry her so far, unless she adapts.

Fighting Style:
Improvisation: Erika isn't quite experienced as a fighter and so will pull out tricks in combat depending on what works. Her fighting style is hard to pin down as a result, but tends towards the pragmatic and the use of Esperanza's Sword Form.

Story:
One of the Orders that rose in the wake of the Fall of the First Knight was the Order of the Black Thorn, a band of holy knights that used body modification to boost their abilities, in the form of embedding armor and crystals into their bodies to channel immense power and protect themselves from harm; Soul Metal, an alloy created from an infusion of magic into steel, was a specific creation of theirs. Their aims were different from their brethren; they saw humans as the purest form of life, untouched by evil even as the Crimson Rain tainted all else, and the Order decided that, in order to protect humanity, humanity must both be under their control and all opponents must be destroyed. To that end, the Order slew non-humans and demons in their path, alongside humans they found to be aiding and abetting them, and built up their forces to take over the world, in order to create a new utopia, free of sin and terror. However, as Demon-Touched banded together and fought back, the Order of the Black Thorn was forced into hiding, taking their techniques with them, disappearing from the pages of history. Or so it seemed; they simply took different names, disguising themselves as mortal organisations and trade guilds, all the while building up their forces and their wealth for the day they would once more emerge into the world.

Eventually, they arose in the modern day as the organization THORN. Unlike their brethren, their schemes were far subtler; they would kidnap fit candidates and force them to become Slave Knights, enslaved soldiers possessing equivalent power to the Demon-Touched, possessing impenetrable suits of Soul Metal, forged from an unholy combination of ages-old magic and modern technology. With the Holy Knights at the head of a vast army of these soldiers, they reasoned that they could finally achieve their aim of subsuming the sinful world into their utopia, one free of sinful beings, where humans could survive in ignorance and bliss, according to the very image that the Order of the Black Thorn demanded. People began to go missing, and their name was uttered in hushed whispers; the Order had been fearsome at the height of their power, and their memory remained, even if their reign had not endured.

One of the candidates was an average teenage girl on the cusp of adulthood, a girl by the name of Erika Saezima. Erika was a simply average girl, living alone in Fuumo City, one of the few cities that had been left untouched by the conflict. She had been living like this since after her parents had died. Erika was fairly self-sufficient, but content- that was, until she was kidnapped in the night, dragged by Order forces into a THORN facility, where she was operated upon, toughening her body against damage, increasing her physical strength, linking the Soul Metal armor to her, and increasing her regenerative capabilities. Erika's natural ability to manipulate magical energies was high enough that an operation to increase this was unnecessary. The last necessary step was to brainwash Erika entirely via lobotomy and substitution with a device that would allow THORN to control her from afar; through this, THORN would have created one of the first in their army of Slave Knights.

However, this was not to be. Erika awoke despite the heavy sedation. Surrounded by her captors, Erika used the very augmentations that they had given her to subdue them before they could lobotomize her,  taking her armor on for the first time and rampaging through the facility in an attempt to escape. The leader of the base, a Holy Knight by the name Yewfelle, came down to stop Erika themselves. Despite her inexperience, fear and the Knight's power,  Erika prevailed and defeated the Knight after transforming into a new form, claiming their weapon, Esperanza. With that, Erika fled into the night as the facility lay in flames behind her, scared for her life. She eventually made her way back to Fuumo, but to her dismay, found that THORN operatives were attempting to kill her there, too. Defending herself, she inadvertently made a reputation for herself, as scared civilians saw a hero in silver and purple defeat the evil Holy Knights despite being seemingly not touched by demon blood.

Weeks later, after weeks of fighting THORN members and getting her bearings back, Erika had to make a decision. She could return to her normal life, attempting to hide forever from THORN, now that she had struck a massive blow to them by destroying their facilities. The alternative was to fight THORN and all other villains in this world, using the newfound power she had and transform into a champion of the people. Erika wasn't Demon-Touched, she knew that much. However, she did have a power to match theirs, a power which the people of Fuumo had named themselves as the Exceed Valkyrie, named for the winged, armored form she took first when defeating the Holy Knight Yewfelle. She had a realisation as she mulled this over; people depended upon her now, as one of the few protectors of the city, as the conflict between the Holy Knights and those who opposed them neared Fuumo. She was the Champion of Fuumo, and THORN wasn't about to blow her up city- nor was any blasted Holy Knight. Her decision was made and her resolve firm; THORN had a new enemy, and the Holy Knights would have to contend with a Valkyrie.

Emboldened, Erika appended one more name to her new title; the name Freya. And so the legend of Exceed Valkyrie Freya was born.
Stats:
Armored Form:
Destructive Power: B
Speed: D
Range: C
Durability: S
Precision: B
Developmental Potential: C

Exceed Form:
Destructive Power: S
Speed: A
Range: B
Durability: B
Precision: B
Developmental Potential: S