Rose

Rose was a Nikke and squad leader of the Melee Squad. She serves as the main antagonist of the event, New Year, New Sword. Rose is the late sister of Scarlet. She and her sister were members of a Nikke squad specialized in melee combat. Rose is also the original wielder of Fleetly Fading, Scarlet's signature weapon. While little is known about Rose's life before becoming a Nikke, it is known that she was Scarlet's older sister. Despite being Scarlet's superior in swordplay, Rose could never surpass her sister in other matters, such as cooking, cleaning, and organizing. Later, Rose and the other melee-specialized Nikkes were rolled together into Melee Squad, a unit of mass-produced Nikkes intended to engage Raptures in close combat. Rose was designated the leader as she possessed the highest simulator scores at the time. When it came to the Melee Squad's first mission, Rose was the first to jump into a Rapture nest and begin slicing away at the enemy, compelling Scarlet and eventually the rest of the squad to jump in as well. Their very first mission was a success with zero casualties. Over the course of several missions, the Melee Squad saw increasing success against the Raptures. Yet their fortune didn't last long, as mechanical failures, supply droughts, ambushes, and Mind Switches saw the squad's numbers slowly dwindle. Despite Rose's pleas, the squad's "commander" refused to say or do anything about the situation. All came to a head when the Melee Squad was tasked with a mission that bordered on suicide. Rose had already considered instigating a rebellion to ensure her squad's survival, but this mission was the final nail in the coffin, especially once she learned the truth. The UFH was deliberately sabotaging the Melee Squad in order to ensure only one survived, and that "lucky" survivor would be remodeled into a Grimms. Thus, Rose began her rebellion in the most shocking way she could...by executing her "commander" with the very blade she used to fell Raptures. Later on, Scarlet arrives to see in horror that a fellow brethren and their former superior were lying lifeless at the hands of Rose. Rose explains that she wanted to bypass the mental inhibitors that prevent a Nikke from harming humans by tricking herself into believing that they weren't humans, and surprisingly, her experiment worked. She also explains that the other Melee squad member was executed as well for going against her despite ordering her to stand back. Scarlet was seized with infuriation as Rose crossed the line into killing a squad mate as well as a human. The two protest in whether deciding to kill Rose or not due to her treachery before unsheathing their blades to fight, Scarlet then insists not to hold back against her, which Rose reassures. After an intense battle, Scarlet emerged victorious as she managed to disarm Rose's sword despite the fact that Rose would usually best her at their previous battles. She then points her sword to her torso, however, Rose suddenly grabs the tip of her sword and then impales it to her torso, damaging her core. Scarlet then embraced her fallen sister. Rose, made her final wish to her dear sister to become stronger and not let anyone take control of her. As she apologizes for one last time, death claimed her life in spite of Scarlet's despair, cradling her sister's now lifeless body. Scarlet then took her sister's sword Fleetly Fading before burying her and the other fallen squad mates.