Dunn

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Dunn investigates Luther Rondal after Sirius’s death, identifying him as a newly made Beyonder through the consumed Beyonder Characteristic. He uses a Nightmare ability to interrogate Luther within a dream, determines that he is not an evil-god believer, and places Luther and Cecilia under Nighthawk protection due to the Aurora Order threat. 5 6

After Luther helps defeat the transformed Hanass and saves injured Nighthawks, Dunn seeks an alternative to permanent surveillance. He offers Luther membership in the Nighthawks, citing both the siblings’ circumstances and the rarity of a cooperative Secrets Suppliant. Luther accepts, and Dunn formally inducts him while retaining responsibility for monitoring him. 9 15 16

Dunn strictly forbids Luther from advancing because the Secrets Suppliant Pathway’s Sequence 8, Listener, exposes its users to corrupting whispers from the True Creator. He assigns Luther mysticism training, firearm practice, and support duties, while also trusting him enough to act on his warning about Old Neil’s abnormal condition. 17 19

During Old Neil’s case, Dunn keeps Luther’s warning confidential and seeks assistance from Senior Deacon Crestet Cecimir. After Neil is saved and passes Crestet’s review, Dunn announces that he will spend the rest of his life working at a church in Backlund under confinement. Dunn plans to request a replacement assistant and directs Luther and Klein to continue their studies using the documents Neil left in the records room. He also informs Luther that Crestet’s observations and the acknowledgment of the Goddess’s Holy Relic have secured his official recognition by the Church. 19 20 23 24

Dunn later receives a letter from Old Neil reporting that he has settled into his Church work, let go of his past regrets, and begun sleeping soundly. He shares this reassuring news with Luther during the team’s dinner. 35

He becomes increasingly committed to properly digesting his own potions after Daly’s advancement demonstrates the value of the Acting Method. Although his feelings for Daly remain unspoken, he resolves to advance responsibly and become worthy of her. 75 102

Following Luther’s forced advancement to Listener and the death of Ms. M’s apparent body, Dunn detains him but continues protecting Cecilia and promises to truthfully report the incident to the Cathedral. During Luther’s transfer from Tingen, Dunn is wounded in an ambush linked to Ms. M. He later uses Saint Selena’s ashes to battle the creature created from Luther’s body, but dies during the catastrophe engineered by Ince Zangwill and Ms. M. 118 119 121 124 128 129

His memory continues to influence the survivors long after the disaster. Luther visits his grave while pursuing revenge and later invokes Dunn’s sacrifice in a confrontation with Arianna, contrasting the captain’s willingness to die for a city with the conduct of far more powerful figures. 599 852

The eventual defeat of Ince does not end the survivors’ grief. After Daly learns that Klein and Luther survived, she desperately hopes that Dunn also returned, but Luther cannot affirm this. Her distress persists even after the target of her revenge has been dealt with. 823 851 898

Appearance

Dunn is a gray-eyed man with a slightly receding hairline. He commonly wears a black trench coat and carries himself with a quiet, scholarly seriousness. 5 101

• Deep, calm gray eyes that make Luther feel scrutinized. 5 12
• Often smokes or handles a pipe. 5 102
• Wears black gloves during investigations. 102
• His composed appearance is occasionally undercut by fatigue and forgetfulness. 8
• At his desk, he sometimes removes his usual coat and top hat and wears only a shirt and vest, giving him a warmer and less intimidating appearance. 16
• While carrying Saint Selena’s ashes, his eyes become deep blue under the urn’s supernatural influence. 124
• Prolonged use of the open urn leaves frost on his brows and temples; after expending his blood to strengthen its threads, his face becomes pale from blood loss. 125 127
• Luther’s later flesh-and-blood portrait depicts him with a gentle expression, deep eyes, and his characteristic receding hairline. 852

Personality

Dunn is calm, patient, and observant, preferring to establish the truth through careful supernatural investigation rather than intimidation alone. His interrogation of Luther is frightening but polite, and he apologizes for forcibly drawing him into a nightmare. 5

As captain, he combines caution with compassion. He takes threats seriously, brings support even against weaker enemies, and considers recruitment a more humane solution for Luther than indefinite confinement. 9 15

He is also strict about corruption and advancement. Dunn makes clear that he will personally purify Luther if the Listener pathway turns him into a True Creator worshipper, yet he later accepts evidence that Luther remains loyal and takes responsibility for failing to recognize his worsening condition sooner. 17 119

His forgetfulness is a recurring feature of daily work. He repeatedly revises instructions about returning Sealed Artifacts and often calls subordinates back after apparently concluding a conversation. His colleagues become accustomed to waiting for these additional instructions. 8 24 34

His lapses can also affect operational decisions: he once excludes Klein from an assignment because he has forgotten that Klein has already advanced. When Luther and Klein point this out, Dunn becomes visibly embarrassed and retreats toward the carriage without further explanation. 103

His consideration extends to small personal gestures: he puts away his pipe when Cecilia is present and notices the careful grooming that reveals how devotedly she has cared for Luther. Even while overseeing the siblings’ compulsory transfer, he grants them time to say goodbye without abandoning necessary surveillance. 7 8 120 121

Dunn refuses to take offense at Cecilia’s discourtesy because he recognizes the courage behind her efforts to protect her brother, calling her a noble lady. Later, when told that she is having difficulties at school, he asks Klein to watch over the siblings and report any problems. He even offers to give bullies an unforgettable nightmare, an offer Luther recognizes as an expression of concern despite privately suspecting that Dunn also wants an opportunity to act as a Nightmare. 7 109 112

Dunn continues fighting until his final moment. Luther later remembers him as a comparatively weak Beyonder who nevertheless gave his life without hesitation for the people of an entire city. 129 852

Abilities & Skills

Nightmare

As a Sequence 7 Nightmare, Dunn can pull targets into dreams and communicate with their subconscious thoughts and memories. 5 9

• Uses dreams as an interrogation method, believing people cannot conceal their genuine thoughts there. 5
• Can create disturbing dream imagery, including an illusion of Sirius’s mutilated corpse. 5
• Plans to use Dream Infiltration to obtain intelligence from captured Aurora Order members. 9
• Luther retains unusual awareness and deception while inside Dunn’s dream, a limitation Dunn does not initially recognize. 5
• Appears at Luther’s window within a dream, demonstrating another use of dream visitation. 50
• Visits Luther’s dream before the Enmat Harbor assignment to warn him about Lanevus and conjures an image of the fugitive. Luther attacks the imagined Lanevus before the dream ends. 50
• Can affect targets through walls. During the operation against Trissy, he sends a tranquil power into the house, putting her to sleep while she believes she is continuing her preparations within the dream. 91
• His Dream Infiltration impresses Luther as comparable to that of a Sequence 6 Soul Assurer, though this is Luther’s assessment rather than evidence of an advancement. Trissy nevertheless breaks the dream and escapes the subsequent gunfire through a mirror substitute. 91
• Attempts to restrain Luther through a dream during his arrest, but Luther recognizes the intrusion and the dream is broken. 118

Tactical Leadership

Dunn directs the Tingen Nighthawks’ investigations, assigns personnel based on their abilities, and coordinates with police and other official Beyonder organizations. 8 33

• Deploys Leonard and Frye to investigate Hanass while assigning Royale to protect Luther and Cecilia. 8
• Organizes the pursuit of Lanevus and alerts the Machinery Hivemind and Mandated Punishers. 33
• Evaluates risks before allowing lower-Sequence team members into dangerous operations. 90
• Gives Luther combat training after recognizing that his support role leaves him vulnerable in close quarters. 34
• Reports military interference in the William Shipping Company investigation to the Cathedral and instructs his team to avoid rash action while the authorities negotiate. 45
• Assigns Leonard and Klein to accompany Luther to Enmat Harbor, providing both combat protection and divination support rather than sending him alone. 49
• Despite his gunshot wound, orders civilian personnel to evacuate the entire street and seek assistance from the Mandated Punishers and Machinery Hivemind, while gathering the official Nighthawks for a coordinated response. 122
• Sends Kenley downstairs to help Siga suppress a Sealed Artifact rather than expose him to a battle in which he cannot contribute effectively. 124
• Orders his teammates to scatter during the monster’s assault, allowing Klein to evade a corrosive charge despite being disoriented by a mental attack. 126

Potion Digestion

After learning the Acting Method, Dunn begins re-digesting his previously consumed potions rather than pursuing advancement recklessly. 75 102

• Fully digests the Sleepless Potion. 102
• Acts as a Midnight Poet while preparing to re-digest the Nightmare Potion. 102
• Expects his Sequence 7 digestion to take longer than usual for reasons he does not explain. 102
• Initially fails to understand Klein’s vague hints about the Acting Method. Daly therefore asks Klein, Luther, and Leonard to explain it fully before Church secrecy restrictions prevent them from sharing it. 53
• Receives a fuller explanation when Klein shares his advancement experience with the Tingen team. 72 73

Physical Abilities and Combat Experience

Dunn’s Nightmare abilities include enhanced physical capabilities, supported by extensive combat experience. When Al Hasan unexpectedly fires at his heart, Dunn instinctively twists aside, causing the bullet to strike his arm instead. The wound subsequently produces severe pain and black veins across his face. 122

Mysticism and Relic Use

Dunn can construct a Wall of Spirituality. After recovering Hood Eugen’s corrupted Beyonder Characteristic, he places it in an iron cigarette case and seals the container with this technique. 33

While using Saint Selena’s ashes, Dunn releases a large quantity of blood imbued with Nightmare spirituality. The relic’s black threads absorb the blood and expand into thick tentacles strong enough to bind the rampaging Ms. M creature. This expenditure leaves him pale from blood loss. The strengthened tentacles also briefly help Luther recover awareness by restraining his mutated body. 126 127

Equipment / Items

• Saint Selena’s ashes — Kept in a silver-white urn; summons black sealing threads capable of restraining powerful monsters. Dunn uses it against the Luther–Ms. M creature, severely damaging the ashes in the process. The threads also effortlessly break the barrier surrounding the creature. Ince exploits the resulting exhaustion and damage before taking the ashes for his advancement ritual. 124 128
  • Prolonged exposure to the open urn subjects Dunn to intense cold, leaving frost on his brows and temples. He strengthens its threads with his own spirituality-laden blood during the final battle. 125 126
• Pipe — A habitual personal item. 5 102
• Revolver — Carries a firearm during investigations and draws it when Luther nearly invokes the True Creator’s complete honorific name. He also uses it during the operation against Trissy. 7 91
• Iron cigarette case — Uses it as a temporary container for Hood Eugen’s corrupted Beyonder Characteristic, sealed with a Wall of Spirituality. 33
• Nighthawk authorization and official resources — Uses Church authority to arrange protective custody, recruitment, training, and the deployment of Sealed Artifacts. 6 15 72
• Red Rose Ring — Temporarily holds and examines the ring recovered from Ms. M’s apparent corpse. He identifies its Grazing and Flesh and Blood Magic as the source of her borrowed abilities; it is evidence rather than his personal equipment. 119

Relationships

• Luther Rondal — Initially interrogates and supervises Luther as a possible threat; later recruits him, trains him, and repeatedly advocates for a humane outcome despite fears surrounding the Secrets Suppliant Pathway. They exchange sincere thanks before Luther’s transfer. After Dunn’s death, Luther visits his grave, pursues revenge for him, and cites his sacrifice as a moral example when confronting Arianna. 5 15 16 119 121 599 852
• Cecilia Rondal — Protects her alongside Luther, arranges support for her schooling, and promises to keep her safe after Luther’s arrest. He admires her devotion to her brother and offers help when she appears to be suffering from problems at school. 6 7 15 109 112 119
• Klein Moretti — A Nighthawk subordinate whose divination and Spirit Channeling repeatedly support Dunn’s investigations. Klein also helps explain the Acting Method to the team and secretly bids farewell to Dunn after his own resurrection. When he and Luther later reunite, both fall silent over the fact that Dunn did not survive alongside them. 5 6 8 72 73 129 171
• Leonard Mitchell — Trusted subordinate who proposes recruiting Luther and later assists in guarding him. Leonard remembers Dunn fighting until his final moment and seeks entry into the Red Gloves after the disaster, motivated by grief and the desire to pursue Ince. Dunn’s image continues to appear among Leonard’s memories of his lost teammates, and the Tingen deaths later recur in a terrifying nightmare. 9 118 129 160 844
• Daly Simone — Former Tingen Nighthawk and fellow captain. Their mutual feelings are widely recognized by their colleagues, and Dunn’s wish to become worthy of her motivates his renewed potion digestion. Daly arranges for his subordinates to teach him the Acting Method and later insists on participating in the pursuit of Ince. Luther subsequently encounters a dream in which she dances happily with a younger, more handsome Dunn. Learning that Klein and Luther survived briefly gives her hope that Dunn also lives, making confirmation of his loss especially painful. 52 53 75 623 781 851 898
• Old Neil — Long-serving colleague whose corruption Dunn investigates cautiously after accepting Luther’s report. After Neil is saved and confined to Church service in Backlund, Dunn arranges continued mysticism education for the recruits and seeks a replacement assistant. He later shares Neil’s reassuring letter with Luther. 17 19 23 24 35
• Crestet Cecimir — Senior Deacon and Church authority who oversees dangerous Tingen matters, including Old Neil’s case and later reviews. 20 75
• Edward Crawford — Enmat Harbor Nighthawk captain whose feelings for Daly contribute to his dislike of Dunn. Edward criticizes Dunn’s decision to recruit Luther, while Luther defends his captain’s generosity and kindness. Edward’s later message urging Dunn not to be a coward helps prompt Dunn to take his feelings for Daly more seriously. 51 52 54 69 75
• Ms. M — Enemy whose followers ambush Dunn during Luther’s transfer and whose transformed body he fights with Saint Selena’s ashes. Her alliance with Ince makes the confrontation part of the larger plan to destroy the Tingen team. 121 122 124 128
• Ince Zangwill — The architect of the Tingen tragedy that ultimately causes Dunn’s death. Ince uses Sealed Artifact 0-08 to manipulate events and exploits Dunn’s defense of the city to exhaust the Nighthawks and damage Saint Selena’s ashes. His eventual defeat fulfills the survivors’ pursuit of vengeance but does not remove their grief over Dunn. 128 129 823 898

Story Role / Major Arcs

Sirius and Hanass Investigation

Dunn introduces Luther to the Beyonder world, places the Rondal siblings under protection, and leads the initial investigation into Sirius, Hanass, and the Aurora Order. 5 6 8 9

His investigation includes checks beyond dream interrogation. The Goddess’s Gaze detects nothing unusual about Luther, and Klein separately examines Cecilia with a supernatural candle before Dunn brings the siblings into Blackthorn Security Company. 6 8

Upon returning to the ruined headquarters after Hanass’s defeat, Dunn reconstructs the battle and summons Inspector Tolle to handle the additional crime scene. He finds the timing of Hanass’s sacrifice and attack suspicious, recognizing that the sequence of events seems maliciously arranged rather than coincidental. 12

Luther’s Recruitment

Rather than allowing Luther to remain permanently confined, Dunn offers him a place among the Nighthawks. He formalizes Luther’s membership while imposing a strict ban on further advancement. 15 16 17

He helps the siblings establish a stable life by arranging advance wages and Cecilia’s return to school. Later, he counts Luther’s contribution to stopping Lanevus as the independent mission normally required of a new recruit and publicly praises him at the team’s welcome dinner. 15 34

Dunn also proposes an explanation for Luther’s earlier mental instability: he suspects that Luther was born with a partial Secrets Suppliant characteristic and that consuming the full potion stabilized his previously uncontrolled spirituality. This is Dunn’s hypothesis rather than an established account of Luther’s condition. 16

After the Lanevus case, Dunn delivers a one-hundred-pound reward collected by grateful victims and accepts Luther’s request to give half of it to the family of a guard who died. Recognizing that Luther continues encountering dangerous incidents despite his support role, he arranges close-combat instruction alongside Klein under Mr. Gawain. 34

Old Neil’s Corruption and Aftermath

Dunn accepts Luther’s report of the unnatural eyes behind Old Neil, keeps the matter confidential, and brings in Crestet Cecimir to address the danger. The case forces him to balance loyalty to a long-serving colleague with the responsibility to contain evil-god corruption. After Neil is saved and transferred to lifelong confinement in Church service in Backlund, Dunn oversees the team’s staffing and educational arrangements. 19 20 23 24

Dunn expresses gratitude for Luther’s willingness to help Neil despite the risks of the proposed method. He later explains that Crestet had originally come to assess Luther, handling Neil’s corruption after receiving Dunn’s report. Neil’s subsequent letter assures Dunn that he is at ease in his new work and has relinquished his regrets. 21 24 35

Enmat Harbor Assignment

He sends Luther, Klein, and Leonard to Enmat Harbor at Senior Deacon Cecimir’s request because the case involves Flesh and Blood Magic associated with the Secrets Suppliant Pathway. 48 49

Daly uses their visit to ensure that Dunn receives a proper explanation of the Acting Method. After the assignment, he grants the returning team leave to rest and spend time with their families. 53 69

In recognition of Luther’s role in stopping a God Descent and protecting Enmat Harbor, Dunn applies to increase his weekly salary from six pounds to eight pounds. Because Luther’s accumulated merits would normally qualify him for advancement, which his pathway makes unsafe, Dunn instead requests permission to entrust him with a Level 3 Sealed Artifact. He later approves Luther’s choice of the Clockwork Clown and issues the authorization to retrieve it from behind Chanis Gate. 69 72

Luther also passes on Edward’s message that Dunn should not be a coward, leaving him visibly shaken. After Daly advances to Sequence 6 Spirit Guide and succeeds Edward as Enmat Harbor’s captain, Dunn acknowledges the message and resolves to digest his potions thoroughly before advancing, hoping to become worthy of her. 69 75

Demoness Investigations

Dunn leads the search for Tris after Leonard explains that the suspect may have transformed into a woman upon advancing. He initially refuses to bring Luther because the enemy is probably Sequence 7, but relents after Luther points to his ritual knowledge, experience, and possession of the Clockwork Clown. 90

During the operation, Dunn puts Trissy into a dream through the walls of her residence, temporarily exposing her position near a window. She breaks free and escapes the Nighthawks’ attacks with a mirror substitute. Dunn and Leonard pursue her but fail to capture her after she dives into the Tussock River. 91 92

When the search yields no decisive clues, Dunn proposes further investigation through clothing, railway surveillance, and the house’s owner. Later, he investigates Madam Sharon’s corpse with Luther, Klein, and Frye, unaware that Luther himself performed the ritual that removed her organs and interfered with divination. Luther steers suspicion toward the Aurora Order and suggests that Sharon was also a Demoness. 93 102 103

Tingen’s Final Crisis

Dunn arrests Luther after the battle with Ms. M, but remains convinced that Luther deserves protection rather than immediate condemnation. During the subsequent ambush and monster outbreak, he commands the Nighthawks’ defense using Saint Selena’s ashes. 118 119 121 124

Before the transfer, he discovers that Ms. M’s apparent corpse belongs to a Sequence 6 Hypnotist rather than a Shepherd. He explains that her Red Rose Ring supplied her borrowed powers, promises to report Luther’s circumstances truthfully, and accepts the unconventional loyalty test in which Luther insults the True Creator. 119

Al Hasan’s attempted assassination wounds Dunn’s arm rather than his heart because he reacts in time. Despite the injury and its abnormal effects, Dunn returns with Saint Selena’s ashes and continues directing the defense against the transformed creature. Ince’s plan deliberately relies on this battle to weaken the team and the relic before his final intervention. 122 124 128

Dunn maintains the relic’s restraints despite the cold and the monster’s repeated escapes through its borrowed abilities. When the creature’s strength threatens to overwhelm the threads, he expends his own blood to turn them into powerful tentacles. He continues fighting even after developing illness symptoms alongside Klein and Leonard. 125 126

When Luther briefly regains awareness, Dunn asks whether he can control his body’s mutation. Luther subsequently suppresses the creature’s stolen abilities through Grazing, allowing him and Dunn to restrain it while Klein destroys it with a Sun Flame charm. Ince then intervenes, fatally stabs Luther, defeats Klein and Dunn, and takes the urn. 127

Death and Legacy

Dunn dies in the Tingen massacre, leaving behind a reputation as “a true guardian,” “the most trustworthy companion,” and “the captain forever.” His death drives Leonard and Daly’s continuing pursuit of Ince Zangwill. 129 599 623

Leonard remembers Dunn fighting until his final moment and is troubled by Ince’s decision to leave Dunn’s Beyonder Characteristic behind while taking Klein’s and Luther’s. Dunn is buried in Raphael Cemetery, where his grave and tombstone remain clean and carefully tended when Luther later visits. 129 599

When Luther and Klein reunite after both surviving the disaster, they fall silent over Dunn’s sacrifice. Luther vows to kill Ince for their captain and for the peaceful lives the survivors can no longer lead. 171

At the grave, Luther wonders whether Dunn would still recognize him after his transformation into the Blood Bishop. He keeps his achievements and plans unspoken, resolving to complete his revenge for both Dunn and himself. 599

Dunn’s tombstone bears a black-and-white photograph of him looking gentle, along with his birth and death dates, August 16, 1314–September 9, 1349. Its epitaph reads: 599

A true guardian;
The most trustworthy companion;
The captain forever. 599

Daly later asks Deacon Ishmael to include her if Ince is located, with Leonard supporting her request. When Ince eventually appears before them, Daly’s hatred is intense, but the pressure of his higher-ranking Death-pathway power leaves her unable to attack, underscoring the difficulty of obtaining the vengeance she has sought. 623 813 814

Her inability to fight leaves her deeply anguished, and Leonard remains determined to avenge Dunn. Ince is eventually defeated, with Klein departing the encounter after looking over his severed head. 815 816 823

Daly’s attachment to Dunn also persists outside the pursuit of vengeance. Luther enters a dream in which she dances with Dunn, who appears younger and more handsome, and leaves without disturbing the scene. Later, both Daly and Leonard suffer nightmares that reproduce the horrors of Tingen, including Dunn lying dead with a gaping wound in his chest. 781 844

After discovering that Luther and Klein are alive, Daly pleads for confirmation that Dunn survived too. Luther’s silence leaves her unable to sustain that hope. Even after Ince has been dealt with, she remains distressed by the knowledge that Dunn alone among the three supposedly dead Nighthawks did not return. Luther and Klein consequently ask Leonard to keep a closer eye on her. 851 898

During his later confrontation with Arianna, Luther tears flesh from his own arm and forms it into Dunn’s portrait. He explicitly invokes the captain’s sacrifice for an entire city, demanding that Arianna account for what such courage and devotion mean. Dunn thus remains a moral reference point in Luther’s conflict with Church authority, not merely a motive for personal revenge. 852

Notable Quotes

“Under no circumstances may you seek advancement!” 16

“Don't move.” 127

“We will temporarily protect your family and you, then make arrangements after the incident is over. It will not be what you are imagining.” 5

“Inviting you to join the Nighthawks is also my way of expressing my gratitude.” 15

“Scatter!” 126

“How could I possibly mind the slight discourtesy of such a noble lady?” 7

“At the very least, I need to become someone worthy of her.” 75

“It was an honor for me to be your captain as well.” 121

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