Konoe Ayatsuki Mercury

Konoe A. Mercury, more commonly known as Nine, was a witch, one of the Six Heroes, one of the Ten Saints and the previous wielder of Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi.

Information
Konoe was a witch who went by the name of Nine. She had long, pink hair and dressed like a stereotypical witch. The name "Nine" comes from her being the ninth member of the Magic Guild's Ten Saints. Celica A. Mercury was her sister, Shūichirō Ayatsuki was her father, and her mother is deceased; nevertheless, she was the lover of Jubei of the Six Heroes, and one herself, as well as the mother of Kokonoe. Konoe's role in the story is further explained in the novel, BlazBlue: Phase 0, where Ragna tells her to beware of Terumi.

She passed down her knowledge of magic to mankind during the Dark War. During the Dark War, she created the Nox Nyctores in order to help humans fight against the Black Beast. After the war, she discovered what Terumi's future plans were, and he killed her, giving Kokonoe a motivation to despise Terumi. She created the Nox Nyctores using human transmutation, a process that requires thousands of human souls. Due to similarities in their appearance and abilities, Phantom may have some connection to Konoe. It is notable that in Lambda's arcade mode, Hazama tells Kokonoe that the magical power he used to create Mu belongs to Konoe. In the Extra Story, "That Which Is Inherited", it is revealed that the process through which the Nox Nyctores were created involved the compressing of seithr into a solid unit, then implanting the unit with the soul of a Black Beast. This compression spell, known as "Snap Weapon: Infinite Gravity", was used by Konoe to create the Nox Nyctores and defeat the Beast, and later by Kokonoe to implant a Black Beast's soul into Ignis.

Appearance
Konoe had long bright vibrant pink hair with bangs and contoured feathery strands that cover her left eye and her right eye, that is visible, is yellow. She used to wear a purple witch's hat and a uniform of the Magic Guild, with the additions of a purple tied ribbon and cape, along with long black strap attached to her sleeves, long black curved leggings that reach to her mini skirt, and black slippers.

Back during the Dark War, she had worn a black mage's coat. Konoe had worn the black mage's coat loosened and opened, that when revealed showed her sleeveless white collar shirt with a purple windsor knotted tie.

Personality
Konoe is a person who likes to do things her own way, a trait shared by her daughter. She is a kind-hearted individual who cares about her friends, especially her younger sister Celica. However, she is not easy on Kazuma. Although she seems to have a mature and serious personality, she can be somewhat impulsive and violent when angered (as shown when she attempted to use a fire spell on Bloodedge for annoying her). She was this way even with her lover, Jubei, before falling in love with him as well as rash, headstrong and independent. Before having her daughter, Konoe had more time on her hands to delve into magical legerdemain. This was likely due to the fact that she was the best in her field of expertise. Unlike her daughter who was a whiz with science, Konoe had an ability, charm and prowess with the magical arts. Being the best in her field and from her expertise and leadership, it was easy to see why she responded to others the way she had. These would psychologically determine her to be right-brained and eccentric, if not at least eclectic.

Also, note that Konoe probably had a close relationship to her daughter, as Kokonoe often reminisced and missed her greatly, hence from Kokonoe's hate of Terumi or Hazama. The time spent with a special bred daughter gifted from both sides of the family would have lent to Konoe bonding with and teaching her daughter all she could. One comment by Kokonoe said she couldn't learn as much as she wanted to from her mother. The time mother and daughter shared would have been more important than anything else. Clearly a woman dedicated to her family and accepted responsibility, which had ultimately led to her demise. Motherhood gave her compassion as another personality trait, being one to save that which was precious to her and her life.

Gallery
Click here to view images of Konoe.

Trivia

 * Konoe's last name is Mercury, Mercury was the Roman equivalent of the Greek Hermes and the Egyptian Thoth. A powerful god whom had three forms, Hermes Trismegistus. Wisdom, writing, magic, alchemy and astrology were this one god's domains under the various guises.
 * Konoe's last name is also a periodic element, Hg, with an atomic number of 80. It is commonly known as quicksilver. Mercury is the only metal which is liquid in state at room temperature approx. 72-75 degrees with a standard pressure rating. Mercury is heavy and silvery white. It is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor of electricity. It has low melting and boiling temperatures. Mercury does not react with most acids.
 * Konoe uncannily resembles the Diva of Twilight, Seneka Windell, from the Nintendo DS game, LostMagic. She is also the Sage of Balance able to quell wands of the other Sages. They each represent the pinnacle of magical ability of their respective games and they each have a younger and kinder sister. Their magical ability and prowess in each game is nothing short of preternatural.