Henry

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Henry Custer 40
Original Name	亨利
Gender	Male 40
Age	Middle-aged 40
Affiliation	Initially introduced as a member of the Royal Army special operations forces; later serves with the Royal Navy’s 13th Marine Corps and commands the Eye of the Sky’s dedicated guard contingent under Li Wei 40 183 364
Occupation/Role	Soldier; military representative in the joint House of Death investigation; Marine Corps officer and commander of the Eye of the Sky’s guard unit 40 41 135 364
Status	Alive and serving aboard the Eye of the Sky after recovering sufficiently from the Casablanca operation to participate in subsequent missions 318 341 364
First Appearance	Chapter 40 40

Appearance

Henry is a tall, powerfully built, middle-aged man whose physique immediately impresses Li Wei as suitable for frontline combat 40.

• Wears a military uniform when introduced 40.
• Has a broad, sturdy build and a resolute face 44 45.
• His imposing appearance suits his role leading Imperial soldiers during the arrests at Feyhart City Hall 135.

Personality

Henry initially dismisses monsters and vampires as nonsense. He approaches the House of Death forcefully, treating the disappearance of his soldiers as something to confront directly. Despite his anger, he allows Li Wei to issue emergency instructions to the remaining troops 41.

His concern for his men becomes central to his conduct inside the house. Carter’s mutilation enrages him, and he asks whether the transformed soldiers can be saved before accepting the need to fight them. After their destruction, he demands that whoever caused their suffering be made to pay 45 46 47.

Henry can recognize demonstrated competence: Li Wei’s precise shooting earns his respect. His own experience of possession also shakes his certainty that supernatural events are impossible 44 45.

His masculine pride initially makes him unwilling to leave grave-digging to Katie while the adult men stand aside, even though he knows she is far stronger than he is. He eventually accepts her assistance and acknowledges Li Wei’s leadership, remembering that the group might not have escaped the House of Death without him 64.

During later military operations, Henry is direct and practical. He shows contempt for Adams and Hancock as traitors, impatiently urges Anthony to help identify the remaining conspirators, and prefers discussing military obstacles to becoming entangled in political arguments 135 148.

Abilities & Skills

Close-Quarters Combat

Henry serves alongside Katie as one of the group’s principal frontline fighters against the Dolls 45.

• Uses a basement axe to hack attacking Dolls apart 45.
• Remains ready to fight barehanded after being disarmed 44.
• Can predict his body’s impending attacks from its muscle movements, allowing him to warn Li Wei even while controlled 47.
• Performs the initial grave-digging during a covert investigation and lifts the coffin lid once Katie helps uncover it 64.

Firearms and Explosives

Henry handles firearms and participates in the group’s explosive ambush against the transformed soldiers 41 44 47.

• Reacts immediately to a newly lit flame and fires when Li Wei exposes himself; this occurs while Henry is possessed 44.
• Throws a grenade beneath the bookcase pinning the soldier-Dolls, working with Anthony and Li Wei 47.
• Provides covering fire while directing the Steam Mech Troopers to withdraw during the battle against the aliens 327.
• Uses a flare gun to signal nearby warships for reinforcements aboard the Aegis 342.

Military Command

Henry arranges troops to guard and search the House of Death 41.

• Receives reports from a corporal and authorizes Li Wei’s contingency orders 41.
• Leads the investigative party into the house and later enters the young master’s room first 41 45.
• Sends personnel to recover the people previously reported missing after the haunting ends 48.
• Leads armored soldiers in arresting the Continental Congress’s leaders and grants Li Wei permission to pass through Feyhart’s checkpoints during the lockdown 135.
• Explains the difficulty of locating rebel troops concealed in Blaize Mountain’s dense forests, even with Scout Boats 148.
• Commands marines during the Lun Mine cleanup, coordinating their advance with Li Wei’s detection of concealed enemies and operational instructions 183.
• Participates in planning the Casablanca operation with Li Wei and the Old Butler, recognizing how airships overcome the city’s formerly formidable walls 313.
• Reports on rescued personnel, distressed soldiers, and recovered alien equipment after the cavern battle 328.
• Takes responsibility for the Eye of the Sky’s security as commander of its dedicated Marine Corps guard contingent 364.

Limitations

Henry’s combat experience does not make him immune to supernatural interference. He is possessed and later physically controlled during the House of Death investigation, and the vampire woman’s sonic attack at Casablanca incapacitates him and leaves him hospitalized with a concussion 44 47 317 318.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Military uniform — identifies him as the Royal Army representative 40 41.
• Sidearm — drawn before entering the House of Death 41.
• Shotgun — wielded during his possession in the cellar; Li Wei disarms him 44.
• Axe — picked up in the basement and used against the Dolls 45.
• Grenade — used in the ambush against his transformed soldiers 47.
• Shovel — used to excavate a grave during the team’s covert nighttime investigation 64.
• Flare gun — used to request reinforcements from nearby warships during the Aegis investigation 342.
• Marine Corps guard contingent — Henry and his Steam Mech Troopers form a fifteen-person security contingent aboard the Eye of the Sky, whose full complement numbers thirty including Li Wei 364.

Story Role / Major Arcs

House of Death Investigation

Henry joins the cross-departmental team assembled to investigate the House of Death, representing the military alongside Li Wei, Katie, Anthony Blount, and Elizabeth Delaney. Li Wei welcomes him as the sturdy frontline fighter the party needs 40 41.

On arrival, Henry learns that a squad entered the house after Carter spotted a little girl inside; none returned. He permits Li Wei to order the remaining soldiers to burn the building at sunset if the investigators have not emerged. Henry then leads the party inside, calling unsuccessfully for his men before the house separates the group 41.

Possession and Rescue

The others encounter Henry in the cellar, transformed into a shotgun-wielding doll. Under its influence, he believes his family and servants have betrayed him and intends to kill them before killing himself. These feelings belong to the tragedy he is being forced to reenact, not an established account of Henry’s own family 44.

Li Wei identifies him through Soul Sight. Anthony creates a shadow with his lighter, enabling Li Wei to evade Henry’s shot and disarm him using Death’s Eye and Shadow Movement. Katie’s subsequent blow knocks Henry free of the doll. Once recovered, he recognizes that his overwhelming rage was imposed on him 44.

Fighting the Dolls

Henry and Katie fight through the attacking Dolls while Li Wei provides gunfire support. In the young master’s room, Henry discovers Carter’s mutilated body and advances furiously toward the boy. Li Wei knocks him down just before an armed soldier-Doll fires 45.

Henry initially hesitates to fight the transformed troops because they are his own men. He eventually helps ambush them with grenades and fire, then returns to confront the boy 46 47.

An unseen giant doll takes control of Henry’s body, forcing him to swing his axe at Li Wei instead. Unlike his earlier possession, Henry retains his awareness and warns Li Wei about his involuntary attacks. Li Wei traces the controlling threads and attacks their source 47.

Aftermath

Henry survives the destruction of the giant doll, although neither he nor Katie could see the entity Li Wei attacked. Knowledge gained during his earlier possession helps him explain that the possessed man murdered those he feared would betray him and concealed their bodies beneath the cellar. Henry arranges a search for the missing victims 48.

Covert Grave Investigation and Imperial Bridge Case

Henry joins the team’s clandestine nighttime grave excavation. The investigators avoid openly sealing off the church because Li Wei does not want to alert their quarry or provoke action from the Holy Lord Church’s remaining conservative strongholds in Fog City. Henry undertakes the digging before asking Katie to help, then opens the exposed coffin 64.

He subsequently goes into action with Li Wei during the Imperial Bridge case. Their later reunion at Feyhart is identified as their first meeting since that operation 135.

Merician Rebellion

Henry arrives at Feyhart City Hall leading armored Imperial troops after an Imperial Iron Warship deploys soldiers to seal off the area. Recognizing Li Wei, he confirms the identities of Adams and Hancock and orders them taken away as traitors 135.

Anthony’s undercover work provides information about the Republic of Francis’s support for the Continental Congress, while Li Wei already possesses a letter documenting a proposed weapons loan. Henry and Anthony enter the hall to identify and arrest the remaining conspirators. Henry authorizes Li Wei to pass the city’s checkpoints, allowing him to leave the lockdown area and pursue the Phantom Killer investigation 135.

Later, Henry explains that the principal rebel force is hiding on Blaize Mountain outside Noyork City. The dense forest prevents reliable reconnaissance of enemy numbers and positions even with Scout Boats, limiting General Hao’s ability to attack immediately 148.

Lun Mine Cleanup

After Elizabeth’s report prompts the Empire to send holy water and troops to Lun Mine, Henry arrives with the Royal Navy’s 13th Marine Corps. Holy water dispersed through the ventilation system weakens the undead, allowing Steam Mech Troopers to destroy zombies and mutants while Li Wei identifies hidden threats with Soul Sight 183.

At level 120, the troops secure the power room and establish searchlights and heavy weapons near the pit. When the lights cannot penetrate the darkness below, the investigators use a Scout Airship to pour holy water into it. A gigantic serpent-like mass formed from countless zombies erupts from the pit and destroys the airship, prompting Li Wei to order concentrated fire 183.

Casablanca Assault and Hospitalization

Henry helps Li Wei and the Old Butler plan the operation in Casablanca. He remarks that the city’s five-story walls would once have made an assault difficult, whereas airships now remove that obstacle, and volunteers to take part while Li Wei initially remains aboard an airship to respond as needed 313.

During the castle battle, an enormous mass of flesh emerges and resists machine-gun fire. The vampire woman fused into it unleashes a sonic attack that overwhelms Henry, Anthony, and the soldiers, leaving Li Wei to counter her while the others are incapacitated 317.

Henry and Anthony remain hospitalized with concussions afterward. Li Wei confirms the destruction of the castle’s supernatural threat by sending the Doll Cat to inspect its burned ruins 318.

Alien Cavern Battle

Henry participates in the operation to rescue Dr. Franco from the alien-infested cavern. When Li Wei remains behind to fight, Henry orders the Steam Mech Troopers to withdraw while firing and provides a final burst of covering fire to stop another enemy charge 327.

After the monsters are defeated, Henry reports that Franco is recovering and no longer in immediate danger. He also reports the psychological distress suffered by some soldiers and understands Li Wei’s order to have them sedated and excluded from future missions of this kind. Henry turns over the aliens’ recovered weapons and devices, which Li Wei sends to Military Intelligence Section Seven for investigation and possible weapons development 328.

Aegis Warship Investigation

Henry and the Steam Mech Troopers follow Li Wei and Katie onto the warship Aegis from an airship. Henry has prior familiarity with the vessel, which Li Wei asks him about during the investigation 341.

After the party returns from the bridge to the deck, Henry obeys Li Wei’s instruction to request reinforcements despite not knowing why they are needed. His flare signal brings two nearby warships alongside the Aegis and more than a hundred armed soldiers aboard 342.

Eye of the Sky Guard Command

Henry reports for duty with his Marine Corps contingent as the Eye of the Sky’s dedicated guard unit under Li Wei. Henry and his Steam Mech Troopers account for fifteen of the airship’s thirty personnel, with the remaining complement operating the vessel 364.

Li Wei is reassured by Henry’s appointment because he already knows and trusts him, unlike the unfamiliar officers and crew. Henry’s responsibility for the airship’s security turns their repeated cooperation into a formal command relationship 364.

Relationships

• Li Wei — Investigative teammate who rescues Henry from possession and later saves him from gunfire. Henry comes to respect his marksmanship 44 45. Henry acknowledges his leadership during subsequent investigations, follows his operational orders, and eventually serves directly under him as commander of the Eye of the Sky’s guard contingent. Li Wei considers Henry a familiar and trustworthy choice for the airship’s security 64 183 342 364.
• Katie — Fellow frontline fighter; her blow frees Henry from his doll. Both are later forced to attack Li Wei through supernatural control 44 45 47. Henry knows her extraordinary strength but initially resists letting her undertake heavy labor because of his pride, before accepting her help with grave-digging 64.
• Anthony Blount — Teammate who assists in Henry’s rescue and joins him in the grenade ambush 44 47. They reunite during the Feyhart arrests, where Henry impatiently presses Anthony to identify the conspirators. Both later suffer concussions during the Casablanca castle assault 135 317 318.
• Elizabeth Delaney — Fellow investigator who warns the group that the child is not their true enemy 40 46. Her report and holy-water preparations support the military cleanup Henry helps command at Lun Mine 183.
• Carter and the missing soldiers — Men under Henry’s command. Their mutilation and transformation provoke his grief and determination to avenge them 41 45 46 47.
• The Old Butler — Participates with Henry and Li Wei in planning the Casablanca operation 313.
• Marine Corps and Steam Mech Troopers — Troops Henry commands in operations against undead and alien threats. His contingent later becomes the Eye of the Sky’s permanent guard unit 183 327 328 364.

Notable Quotes

“There's no such thing as monsters or vampires in this world. It's all rubbish.” 41

“Is there any way we can save them?” 46

“Find whoever did all this. I'll make him pay.” 47

“Hey, Li Wei. Long time no see.” 135

“Take them away!” 135

“Yes, Captain.” 342

---