Hilma Cygnaeus

Hilma Cygnaeus (ヒルマ・シュグネウス) is the leader of the drug trade department of the criminal organization, Eight Fingers.

Appearance
Hilma is described as a woman with sickly pale skin who wears white clothing. She has a snake tattoo that crawls down her right arm starting from her shoulder blades and holds a pipe that gives off poisonous, purple fumes. She also wears purple mascara and lipstick, and thin garments that gave her the decadent aura of a high-class prostitute. However, after being tortured by Kyouhukou, she was traumatized and would later lose the ability to eat solid food which caused her to become extremely thin, she now looks like an old lady rather than a "high-class prostitute."

Personality
Hilma was actually proud of being a high-class prostitute and used those skills of hers to blackmail the nobles along with other people in power to the service of Eight Fingers. After Hilma was interrogated by Kyouhukou, she has reverted into a miserable woman who has become mentally broken and in constant despair from the punishments she has suffered, simply asking about her experiences causes her to feel sick. She would go so far as to betray her comrades in Eight Fingers and has become utterly subservient to Nazarick.

Ironically, Hilma's experiences of being tortured and put to work under Nazarick actually made her a much more humble person and more empathetic towards the suffering of others. This was the case when Hilma was able to actually empathize with others who have gone through similar suffering as herself. Due to this torturous turn of event that had happen to her alongside them, she now sees her fellow Eight Fingers executives as no longer rivals or potential enemies. Rather, she considers her colleagues as actual comrades and friends in arms instead of rivals, leading Hilma to become much less brutal, manipulative, and cruel to her subordinates. Hilma's sudden change in demeanor actually shocked Christopher Olson on how understanding she was during his meeting with her and the other leaders of Eight Fingers, a way of thinking in stark contrast to her previous behavior.

Upon actually meeting the Sorcerer King, Hilma came to become genuinely loyal to him due to seeing how respectful and rational minded he was in comparison to his servants who simply enjoyed tormenting humans. This made Hilma admire him and consider him a merciful leader who would treat her immensely well if she does well in her tasks, thus making her more motivated to accomplish her work with a new zeal. Hilma herself has shown to have now seemingly developed the same religious faith the NPC's of Nazarick have towards Ainz.

Background
Hilma was a former high-class prostitute who used her skills and intelligence to climb to the top of the underworld. After becoming the head of the drug dealing department she started building ties with first sons of noble houses, who had status and connections but were powerless on the politics and economically dependent of the head of their house. The drug lord lured them to the parties on her mansion offering a place where they could satisfy their egos, along with drugs and beautiful women. That way, Hilma waited until they ascended to the power, then use their relationship to blackmail the nobles and put them under her control.

The Men in the Kingdom Arc
and The Men in the Kingdom II Arc Hilma and the other executives of Eight Fingers meet in an undisclosed location to discuss various issues affecting the organization; one of which being the attacks on her drug trade department but they don't yet know who the perpetrators are. Zero offers to lend a hand to Hilma, but she turns down his offer and continues their meeting with the assembly discussing the newest adamantite adventurer team, Darkness.

Hilma's mansion is attacked by Nazarick. She attempts to attack Mare Bello Fiore with her Viper’s Tattoo but Mare easily crushes it with his bare-hand. She was then crippled by Mare, dragged to the Black Capsule, and tortured by Kyouhukou. As a result of the torture, she betrayed the Eight Fingers by revealing their meeting place to Aura Bella Fiora.

The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc
Since the Eight Fingers raid, she has been unable to eat solid food and has become thin and frail. Hilma helps Philip organize a ball in the Royal Capital. But because his family lacked the resources needed to organize a ball, Philip accepts her offer to rent a large estate and invite guests to entertain Albedo.

In truth, she is just using him and the rest of the new noble faction as a means to further destabilize the noble faction and cripple the royal government even further as preparations for the Kingdom's annexation under Albedo's orders.

The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom Arc
Hilma's tutelage of her ward, Philip has taken a toll on her mentally. When word spread that Ainz Ooal Gown was dead, Philip believed that he would be able to marry Albedo and in doing so would grant him the Sorcerer Kingdom. His sheer idiocy caused her to wail before the floor in front of her colleagues. Her comrades attempted to console her and urge her to continue, though the former prostitute still demanded a transfer from her assignment.

The Witch of the Falling Kingdom Arc
Hilma was dragged to a summon by two Death Knights under orders from Albedo to clarify why the incident with the carriages happened and whether she had any knowledge of it, Ainz using [Dominate] on her was able to clarify that she had no idea about the operation that was carried out by the noble under her charge, all the while trembling in terror and stuttering her words in fear of her life.

Since she did not willingly betray them or had no prior knowledge, she was given mercy and spared from any harsh treatment. Hilma was instead ordered to come up with solutions to rectify the problems that have occurred as a result of the noble's action under her charge. Hilma then bowed her head to the floor thanking him for his mercy and continued to swear her undying allegiance to him and left the room immediately to carry out her new assignments.

Upon being transported to Noah Zweden’s mansion, Hilma was quickly confronted by her colleagues who arrived out of concern for her well-being. However, she reassures that nothing bad has happened to her like last time. She informs her colleagues that the Sorcerer King was not as terrifying as she thought he would be, but a master who they can reason with and be given mercy from. She encourages everyone to work even harder for the Sorcerer King and show loyalty to their master from now on. Afterwards, she began seeking assistance from various sources for the task she had been given by the Sorcerer King.

Back when the Sorcerer Kingdom had begun their march towards Re-Estize. Hilma and the other Executives were ordered to choose about a thousand people from the Kingdom to be spared and taken to a safe location. While they waited with their followers in one of their mansions for an envoy to extract them, the other Executives worried they would not be rescued before the Kingdom's destruction. Hilma was stead-fast in her conviction that the Sorcerer King would send someone for them. After Cocco Doll was brought in the room, the former had noticed their odd behavior and wondered if they were impostors or planning to kill him. When they refused to respond at the comment it made him all more suspicious. Hilma did not deny anything. When Shalltear Bloodfallen arrived to bring the Executives and their followers to a new village in the Sorcerer Kingdom Cocco Doll was taken by the Floor Guardian. Hilma knowing what fate awaited him quietly apologized to her colleague. Though she and the rest of her friends knew that Cocco Doll's fate was unavoidable they believed that he would survive and join them.

Mass for the Dead Arc
After the Catastrophe and the emergence of the Cracks, Eight Fingers disbanded due to the crack down on all illegal activity by the nobles. Hilma later reformed and relocated to E-Rantel and gained a high-ranking position at the Pharmacist's Guild thanks to her knowledge on drugs. She would later return to Re-Estize and tried to invite her former colleague Zero and Six Arms to work as mercenaries at the city but her offer was declined.

Hilma's reputation as a former Executive of Eight Fingers would still linger among the populace of E-Rantel though she continued to use her skills for the city. The protagonist and his team were later hired by Hilma to retrieved soil samples from Carne Village to allow for the creation of a herb cultivation project that Hilma was working on with Lizzie Bareare. Later Hilma and the protagonist were brought before the city officials of E-Rantel. Due to the abnormal rise in the numbers of Sanitary Slimes and their aggression, Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra suspected that Hilma was responsible for the change, as the slimes contained heavy doses of alchemical solution which could only be accessed by a high ranking member of the Pharmacist's Guild. Given Hilma's shady past suspicion was cast over her and the protagonist own history of obtaining herbs for her were also brought to light. Hilma maintained that she was innocent stating her current project kept her busy from even concocting such a devious plan. It was determined that Hilma was telling the truth as the rising numbers of slimes was just as accident. The slimes were being feed runoff water that originated from her herb cultivation field which caused their aggressive mutation.

After the second summit of the Tripartite Alliance, Hilma delivered herbs requested by Lizzie. When she inquired the need for such materials, Lizzie declined to offer a reason, though the former criminal suspected that the herbs were being gathered in anticipation for someone very important and in dire need for medical attention.

Hilma would also provide information on one of her former associates Cocco Doll, who had become a crime boss of the Black Market. She provided the authorities led by Saint Clementine on his illicit operation allowing them to arrest him and eliminate the corruption in E-Rantel.

Abilities and Powers
As one of the top executives of Eight Fingers, Hilma has full authority in the drug trade department and also to do as she pleases in the organization relating to the drug trade. She is also one of the few capable of correctly perceiving Mare's gender despite how the latter's appearance and clothing make it to be. Hilma could tell a person’s inner thoughts by the fluctuations in their voice, their expressions, and their partialities. This wasn't some unusual ability, but just something she had picked up over time with experience on the job.

More so, due to Hilma's way of carefully manipulating and blackmailing those in her parties and festivities to entertain the Kingdom's nobility and first born heirs in order to gain leverage over them, Hilma has successfully gained immense secret political power over the Kingdom's hierarchy. In a way, Hilma happens to hold quite an immense influence and resources within both the Re-Estize Kingdom's official government and its various underground organizations. This can be indicated as she possessed enough power to skillfully arrange and create a New Faction for the Sorcerer Kingdom without many being able to tell that she was the true leader, founder, and power behind the faction. Hilma also possessed enough resources to easily acquire high level equipment with little trouble, as seen where she gave Philip a new set of high level armor.

Main Equipment

 * Viper's Tattoo: A magic snake tattoo that can materialize and come to life to attack at the wearer's command, the snake would then inject powerful toxins to kill its victim.

Eight Fingers
Like other executives of Eight Fingers, Hilma uses other executives as a way to promote their own power within the Eight Fingers and the Kingdom. But, due to differing views, Hilma had no qualms about selling them out to Nazarick if it was to end the suffering of torture.

After becoming slaves of Nazarick, all of them starting to view each other as true friends that have endured the same pain and are bounded to the same fate, showing that the other executives forgive Hilma for selling them, understanding the consequences of defying the Nazarick's inhabitants. As shown after Hilma’s interrogation regarding her charge’s foolish actions, the other executives showcased genuine concern for her and was glad that she was sparred.

Ampetif Cocco Doll
Even prior to being enslaved by Nazarick, Hilma has always possessed a friendly relationship with her fellow Eight Finger Leader, Coco Doll due to their similar back grounds. Having had a prior relationship with him in presumably the prostitution industry where the two work together to reach their individual goals prior to joining the Eight Finger executives. He refers to their relationship as one of "Partners".

Later upon him being liberate from prison and saved by Eight Fingers during the final Siege on the Royal Capital in the Fall of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Coco Doll was able to immediately see that something was wrong with Hilma due to her incredibly skinny frame and deeming it impossible that she would starve herself that much due to knowing how much effort she places in looking "elegant", further emphasizing their close relationship. Later Hilma felt guilty at not been having been able to save him being dragged off by Shalltear to have his "Black Baptism" and was later hopeful that he would survive and join them in becoming servants(slaves) to Nazarick.

Philip Dayton L'Eyre Montserrat
Philip is one of the newly promoted nobles whom Hilma manipulates by feeding his ego. Because of his delusional behavior and naivety, she views him as the "ultimate fool." At the same time, the foolish noble is a great source of frustration and distress to Hilma, since she fears that the idiotic acts of Philip would cost her her life too.

Her fears would later prove themselves to be justified, as thanks to his foolish actions in attacking the carriage run meant for the Holy Kingdom, she was summoned by Albedo and brought before Ainz to explain Philip's actions. However upon her appearing completely clueless about what action she was charge for and her own dumbfounded expression at the situation, Hilma herself was nearly sentenced to being tortured to death by the Sorcerer King's aids, causing her to curse Philip due to his stupidity. But in the end, she was spared harsh reprisal thanks to Ainz's mercy. Eventually upon the Final Siege to the Royal Capital and Hilma having successfully evacuated the Royal Capital with her subordinates, their families and her friends, Hilma was shown to have now completely abandoned and forgotten Philip as she left him to his fate.

Albedo
Albedo is the one whom Hilma reports directly on the Eight Finger's operations. Hilma's view of her, like all members of Nazarick, is of one absolute terror. Hilma is especially careful to avoid upsetting Albedo, to the point where she doesn't even think about telling her about Philip's idea of marrying her, for fear of what Albedo might do.

Ainz Ooal Gown
The Sorcerer King is her master, and thus she respects but also greatly fears him. When she was brought in for interrogation in front of him, all Hilma could do was cower in fear, and did everything in her power to keep herself alive, as she was certain he would kill her for the actions of the noble under her. However, Ainz showed her mercy and in doing so, she felt very thankful for his mercy and has further strengthened her loyalty and allegiance to him. Hilma is looking to try her very best to make it so that she and her companions could become direct subordinates under the Sorcerer King. She views him as the type of master who would reward someone based on their performance, and not treat his subordinates unreasonably.

Trivia

 * Hilma couldn't eat solid food after being tortured by Kyouhukou and thus, her body became weak. This is most likely because the torture involved Kyouhukou having her organs eaten from the inside by his carnivorous roaches. Hilma makes several references such as the things sliding down her throat when she remembers the torture.
 * Her division was one of the most, if not the most, powerful and profitable of Eight Fingers.

Quotes

 * (To the Executive): "Yep, it's true, a village that was used as a production plant. Cost me a pretty penny too. I might cut down on distribution."
 * (To Aura): "W-wait! Not me, right? I helped you, didn't I?! Please! I'm begging you! I can't take it! I can't take it any more!"
 * (To Aura): "G-got it! Leave it to me! We can definitely make something useful of them!"
 * (To Philip concerning her hearth): "It's not like that. The fact is, I can no longer eat solid food, so I can only consume drink, and I can't take in too much either...yes. Please, do not worry. I will have someone use healing magic if it's because of an illness."
 * (To Albedo about Philip): "He did nothing, but believes that he's the only special one. He has truly reached the ultimate level of incompetence."
 * (To her colleague about Philip): "–I've had it! Swap with me! I need to watch that idiot’s movements! My stomach hurts! What the hell's wrong with him! I lose my mind around idiots!"
 * (To her colleague): "If that were all, my stomach wouldn't hurt like this! He, he said that if he married Albedo-sama, he would be able to inherit the Sorcerer Kingdom!"
 * (To her colleague): "Oi oi oi! We were ordered to prepare an idiot, but why don't we just kill him off? Wouldn't it be better to prepare a more suitable idiot!?"
 * (To her colleagues about the Sorcerer King): "His Majesty was...his Majesty was truly a reasonable master. Not only was he tolerant of my failures, but he was also merciful in his ruling."
 * (To her colleagues): "I didn't think that I would be returning alive too, the reason why I could return without a scratch was because of our master. His Majesty the Sorcerer King — truly someone fit to be called a king. If our master wasn’t there..."
 * (To her colleagues): "That’s right. Though our master is of the undead, he embodies justice and mercy. Even when he's being callous, he isn’t being cruel. After all, the consequence of failure is punishment. He could have killed me to send a message to you all, but his Majesty did not do so."
 * (To her colleagues): "I hope his Majesty the Sorcerer King will remain with us forever. If it was our master, he would have..."

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Hilma Cygnaeus