Old Neil

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Old Neil (老尼尔)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Nighthawks; formerly stationed in Tingen, later transferred to Backlund 13 153
Occupation/Role	Nighthawk operative, Mystery Pryer, ritual specialist, and occult instructor
Status	Active; released from hospital under regular checkups before transferring to Backlund 116 153
First Appearance	13

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Sequence 8 — Melee Scholar	153	Consumed a Sequence 8 Mystery Pryer potion before transferring from Tingen to Backlund to support Lynch.

Background / History

Old Neil served with the Tingen Nighthawks as an experienced Mystery Pryer. He handled equipment distribution, supplying Lynch and Klein with revolvers, ammunition, and Special Operations Group Team 7 badges, while also teaching them occult fundamentals such as pendulum divination and the precautions associated with different Beyonder pathways 13 31.

He was secretly consumed by his desire to resurrect his deceased fiancée. The Hidden Sage manipulated this longing, and Old Neil accumulated ritual materials and maintained an altar at home despite recognizing that he was moving toward an abyss 50 60 73. Lynch repeatedly occupied his time with lessons, errands, and copying study materials, partly to keep him away from the resurrection ritual 67 73 79.

After Lynch saw cold eyes behind Old Neil while advancing and reported the incident, Old Neil was taken for examination and hospitalized 91 92. He was eventually released, though required to undergo regular checkups; on returning, he immediately resumed worrying about Lynch's studies 116.

Following the Tingen team's departure, Old Neil grew increasingly bored and missed Lynch's company. He risked taking a Sequence 8 potion, became a Melee Scholar, and transferred to Backlund, where he joined Leonard's team and sought to accompany Lynch again 153 154.

Appearance

Old Neil is an elderly man with graying hair and an aged voice 61 153.

• Often carries ritual supplies, including bottles of liquid and powder used in divination 48.
• Keeps a revolver for field operations 61.
• His age and unstable legs are a recurring concern during investigations, though Dunn values his experience 125.

Personality

Old Neil is friendly, humorous, and relentlessly teasing. He jokes with Lynch about Klein's appearance, mocks Lynch's poor memory, and frequently uses sarcasm when Lynch tries to claim his promised inheritance early 13 54 67.

Behind his complaints, he is deeply caring and lonely. He tutors Lynch, searches for ways to improve his memory, gives him a memory charm, and repeatedly helps him study even when exhausted 60 61 73. Though Lynch often imposes on him, Old Neil struggles to refuse him and comes to value the companionship 68 73.

His grief over his fiancée makes him stubborn and vulnerable to manipulation. He knows the resurrection ritual may destroy him, yet initially cannot relinquish the hope of either reviving her or joining her in death 60 79.

Abilities & Skills

Mystery Pryer Ritual Magic

Old Neil is an experienced practitioner of ritual magic and serves as a practical instructor for less-experienced Nighthawks.

• Teaches occult theory, pendulum divination, ritual procedures, and knowledge of other Beyonder pathways 31 59.
• Uses prepared ritual materials, prayers to the Evernight Goddess, and a sealed ritual space to investigate supernatural cases 125.
• Performed a ritual that identified Ansali as connected to a special commissioner's death 125 126.

Divination

Old Neil can use divination to reconstruct limited information about past events.

• Identified the appearance of the man who controlled Lynch: blue eyes, dentures, and black hair 48.
• Could only perceive Lynch's actions within an approximately five-minute window during that investigation 48.
• Sketched faces revealed through ritual visions, including Ansali's 48 125.

Occult Instruction

Old Neil regularly mentors Lynch and Klein in mystical knowledge.

• Tailors lessons to a student's pathway and teaches general knowledge useful against unfamiliar Beyonders 31.
• Checks students' understanding before continuing lessons and criticizes overwork as readily as laziness 56.
• Continues teaching Lynch after his release, believing occult knowledge will remain useful even for later Sleepless sequences 116.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Revolver — drawn during the pursuit of Trissy at the underground market 61.
• Ritual materials — bottles, powders, incantations, and other supplies used for divination and ritual magic 48 125.
• Memory charm — gifted to Lynch out of concern for his poor memory 61.

Relationships

• Lynch — Student, colleague, and surrogate heir. Old Neil tutors, feeds, and assists Lynch despite constant exasperation; he later transfers to Backlund largely to remain near him 50 73 79 153.
• Klein Moretti — Nighthawk colleague and occult student. Old Neil teaches him divination, takes him to the underground market, and frequently compares his habits with Lynch's 31 56 61.
• Dunn Smith — Captain and fellow Nighthawk. Dunn relies on Old Neil's experience for investigations and assigns Lynch to learn from him 13 125.
• Unnamed fiancée — Deceased beloved whose resurrection Old Neil desperately pursued, leaving him susceptible to the Hidden Sage's influence 50 60 79.
• Leonard Mitchell — Fellow Nighthawk. Leonard teases Old Neil after his release and later brings him into a Backlund mission team 116 154.

Notable Quotes

“If Klein really recognizes these characters, then I'll lose control and die!” 14

“If you mutate, I'll give all my property to Klein.” 91

Trivia

• Old Neil claims he will leave all his property to Lynch if Lynch succeeds at Tingen University, a promise Lynch treats as immediate permission to take his possessions 60 67.
• He owns a piano and has strong opinions on piano etiquette, to his disbelief when Lynch admits he cannot play 50.
• He once received help repaying his debts through an apparent intervention by the Evernight Goddess, an event later linked to the cost of fate's gifts and his near loss of control 56 153.