Russell

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Russell
Alias(es)	The Principal; Mimir; Loki
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Ivory Tower; Heavenly Kingdom Lineage; Utopia
Occupation/Role	Principal of the Ivory Tower; Lord of the Heavenly Kingdom Lineage; former reserve record keeper of Heaven
Status	Active
First Appearance	Chapter 534 534

Background / History

Before the fall of Heaven, Russell served as a reserve record keeper and was among the candidates for the Book of Destiny. He witnessed the collapse of the Heavenly Kingdom and later reflected that he had failed to step forward decisively when it mattered, a regret that drove his determination to preserve and rebuild Utopia. 534 1452

As Principal of the Ivory Tower, he accumulated resources for the surviving Heavenly Kingdom Lineage. He helped restore the Heavenly Prison Fortress through the former Utopia Mainframe and funded Professor Miyamoto’s research into the illnesses suffered by beast-transformed people, demanding only that the Ivory Tower be credited. 630 726

Russell located Huai Shi after his ascension and confronted him over the Book of Destiny. Rather than seize it, he accepted that the Book had chosen Huai Shi and became his teacher, introducing him to surviving Utopian figures while preparing him to inherit the lineage’s future. 534 951 986

For seventy years, Russell cultivated a web of falsehoods around the Book of Destiny and his own identity. He later revealed that the Books circulating throughout the world were forgeries and that his supposed advancement as “Mimir” was part of a larger deception; he identified the concealed truth as Loki, the god of lies and deception. 1002 1003

Following the defeat of Woodman and the Golden Dawn’s setbacks, Russell openly pursued the reconstruction of the Heavenly Kingdom Lineage. He negotiated for Utopia’s former assets, reactivated Hell outposts for the Unified Bureau, and positioned Huai Shi as Utopia’s recognized successor. 1035 1036 1345

Appearance

Russell normally appears as an elderly man in formal attire, though his body and appearance are highly mutable. He can alter what different observers perceive, making his outward form unreliable. 534 953

• Waist-length white hair. 534
• Often wears a black suit and carries a cane or scepter. 534
• Frequently smokes cigars. 953 986
• Can transform into animals, including a fluffy white polar bear wearing glasses and holding a cigar. 953 954
• His scepter can transform into a plump cat. 534

Personality

Russell presents himself as an elegant, knowledgeable, and considerate elder, but he is habitually mischievous, evasive, and manipulative. He treats negotiations, political crises, and enemy schemes as opportunities to misdirect others, often allowing people to believe he planned events that genuinely surprised him. 953 1003 1347

He is openly cynical about trust and harmonious ideals, yet his actions show lasting loyalty to Utopia’s survivors, his students, and the current realm. His attempts to reunite old companions are colored by regret over arriving too late, while his efforts to restore the Heavenly Kingdom Lineage remain persistent even after repeated rejection. 955 972 1036

As a teacher, Russell doubts the value of his own experience and claims he cannot teach what he never had the chance to put into practice. Instead, he guides Huai Shi through practical encounters, political conflicts, and meetings with Utopia’s surviving figures. 986

Abilities & Skills

Twilight Path and World Tree Authority

Russell is described as an old Fifth Tier powerhouse of the Twilight Path. His Holy Mark is associated with Mimir, the Guardian of the World Tree and guardian of the spring, though Russell later destabilizes the accepted account of this identity by claiming “Mimir” was a deception. 953 1002

• Uses authority inherited from the World Tree to ignore external interference with travel and transfer. 1446
• Commands an exceptionally versatile legion and a broad range of Heavenly Kingdom Lineage abilities. 976
• The Twilight Spectrum’s principal weakness is its effect on its wielder: its Norse divine miracles can increasingly distort personality and consciousness. 976

Beast Transformation

Russell can transform into virtually any animal catalogued by the Creature Lineage, changing not only his exterior but also his internal structure. 953

• Assumes forms from land, sea, and air creatures. 953
• Can perfectly imitate powerful entities such as Great Group Lords. 953
• Can appear differently to different observers, allowing him to move through public places without causing alarm. 953 954
• His transformations are used as casually for amusement as for concealment or intimidation. 953 1452

Illusion and Deception

Russell’s greatest strategic strength is making falsehoods credible enough to shape others’ decisions. His seventy-year deception surrounding the Book of Destiny left even his enemies unable to determine which of his claims were true. 1002 1003

• Maintained forged Books of Destiny in circulation for seventy years. 1002
• Used the Ivory Tower’s self-destruct system and false Book of Destiny trails to trap Woodman. 1002
• Summoned visions of destruction over London to force the city’s defenses and alarms into action. 1107
• Exploits uncertainty itself as a weapon, deliberately giving enemies contradictory explanations until they cannot act confidently. 1003

Reality Manipulation and Combat

Russell can casually produce large-scale supernatural effects and remains dangerous in direct combat despite preferring schemes and delegation. 958 1645

• Froze the sea, created a vortex of white mist, and reversed time during a “magician’s trick.” 958
• Used the divine miracle imprint Fafnir to recreate the destructive force of Russia’s Sword of Eden against Wescott. 1446
• Manipulated distance and terrain, abruptly placing Wescott high in the air before striking him with manifestations of the sea. 1446
• Killed multiple assassins during an elevator ambush and escaped before the elevator was destroyed by machine-gun fire. 1645

Numbered Curse Bullets

During the Unified Bureau crisis, Russell used cursed ammunition entrusted to him by Ms. X. 1649 1650

• Numbered Curse Bullet 009 — transformed the Fabuti’s Blade’s lightning into a chilling black force, destroying a mutated infant and temporarily halting the surrounding distortion. 1649
• Numbered Curse Bullet 002 — destroyed the massive corrupted heart powering an aggregate of corpses and distorted order. 1650

Equipment / Items

• Cane / scepter — a personal implement capable of transforming into a cat. 534
• Book of Destiny — Russell initially acknowledged Huai Shi as its chosen holder, but later announced that he had gained control of it; he keeps its true status deliberately uncertain. 534 1153 1602
• Numbered Curse Bullets 009 and 002 — curse ammunition received from Ms. X during the Unified Bureau’s collapse. 1649 1650
• Utopia’s Hell outposts — former Utopian strategic facilities Russell offered to reactivate for the Unified Bureau. 1035 1036

Relationships

• Huai Shi — Student and designated successor. Russell accepts Huai Shi as the Book of Destiny’s chosen holder, mentors him through practical experience, and prepares him to become Utopia’s future representative. 534 986 1345
• Isaac — Vice Principal and trusted subordinate. Russell leaves the Ivory Tower’s affairs to Isaac when departing for London and relies on him to carry out sensitive orders. 1015 1218
• Yegor — Political counterpart, old friend, and frequent target of Russell’s provocations. They cooperate over Hell outposts and the future of the current realm; Russell ultimately kills Yegor at his request to prevent his mutation from spreading. 1036 1607 1650
• Yekaterina / Katya — Former lover. Their reunion exposes old betrayals, including Russell’s decision to send her to the present world before the Heavenly Kingdom’s fall; she rejects his invitation to rebuild the lineage. 972
• Yoko — Old Utopian companion. Russell seeks to reconnect with her in Nara, only to learn that the original Yoko died years earlier and had been replaced by a mechanical replica. 955
• Marcus — Old friend and former Utopian diplomat. Russell prioritizes securing Marcus’s release from Rome and promises to take him home despite Marcus’s madness. 984 985
• Titus — Roman Emperor. Titus supports Russell’s rebuilding efforts and permits him to take Marcus away, while warning that Russell will bear the consequences if harm comes to him. 984 985
• Woodman — Golden Dawn adversary. Russell’s deception traps and humiliates Woodman, whose inability to distinguish truth from Russell’s lies becomes a central weakness. 1002 1003
• Ms. X — Long-standing adversarial colleague who becomes Russell’s partner during the Unified Bureau disaster. After she is corrupted, she entrusts Russell with her authority and asks him to kill her before she turns into a Faceless One. 1647 1649

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Book of Destiny revelation — Confronts Huai Shi, reveals his former role in Heaven, and becomes aware of Huai Shi’s connection to the Book. 534
• Ivory Tower leadership — Maintains Utopia’s remaining infrastructure, funds research, and safeguards strategic assets for the Heavenly Kingdom Lineage. 630 726 854
• Graduation journey — Takes Huai Shi across the world to meet old friends, collect Utopia’s stolen reserves, and teach him through experience rather than formal lessons. 951 955 962 986
• Heavenly Kingdom reconstruction — Seeks former allies, authority relics, strategic reserves, and the return of Marcus while openly declaring his intention to rebuild the lineage. 972 977 984
• Golden Dawn deception — Uses the Book of Destiny, the Ivory Tower, and decades of misinformation to defeat Woodman and undermine the Golden Dawn. 1002 1003 1153
• War of All Realms — Mobilizes the Heavenly Kingdom Lineage, aids the Unified Bureau through Utopia’s Hell outposts, and participates in the campaign against the Golden Dawn’s Land of Nothingness. 1035 1107 1446 1454
• Unified Bureau disaster — Helps contain the Piper’s distorted order within London’s Unified Bureau headquarters, kills Ms. X at her request, and later grants Yegor the same mercy. 1647 1649 1650

Notable Quotes

“Think, Woodman, you must think, constantly think! But remember, the moment you think, I will laugh.” 1003

“Goodbye, X. Enjoy your vacation.” 1649

“I am working towards that very goal.” — on rebuilding the Heavenly Kingdom Lineage. 984

Trivia

• Russell states that he is 112 years old. 534
• He describes himself as poorly suited to being a “pillar of support,” claiming that he prefers leaving difficult work for others to handle. 1003
• Russell is notably fond of cigars, fine food, wine, coffee, and making Huai Shi pay for outings under false pretenses of grief. 953 956 1333
• He can sing while repairing equipment during a catastrophic overtime shift, much to Ms. X’s irritation. 1649