 ✓
| ||
|
This Villain was proposed and approved by Villains Wiki's Pure Evil Proposals Thread. Any act of removing this villain from the category without a Removal Proposal shall be considered vandalism (or a futile "heroic" attempt of redemption) and the user will have high chances of being | ||
 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | Another fine day in the city of Krat! But I wonder, my friend, just where have you been at? | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino's catchphrase as he greets P. |
| “ | But... I am an artist. "Murderer" is a word the humans use to restrain us. To make us refuse our strength and power. I am an artist. An artist of blood. | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino is confronted by P for being a serial killer. |
| “ | Blood and revenge, revenge and blood. It is the only thing that truly drives me... And it was SO MUCH FUN... Hee-heeheehee! | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino reveals his hatred of humanity. |
Arlecchino, often referred to as the King of Riddles, is a minor antagonist in the 2023 video game Lies of P. He was a puppet who manifested a sadistic streak after he achieved awareness thanks to his Ergo awakening. He became a serial killer and sought to kill all Alchemists, but was defeated and imprisoned in Arche Abbey, where he spent the time tapping into the telephone system of Krat to challenge people with riddles.
He was voiced by Joseph Balderrama, who also voiced Sangres in Payday 2.
Biography[]
Arlecchino once worked for an Alchemist who was skilled in surgical procedures. One day, his Ego awakened, leading to him gaining awareness. He concluded that Ergo was the manifestation of a person's life essence and memories, and thus his fellow puppets were no different from the humans they were forced to serve, leading to him gaining a deep seated hatred for their human masters, due to them 'imprisoning' Ergo in the bodies of puppets. He watched his master closely, learning to copy his skills as a surgeon.
Eventually, he attacked and tortured him, trying to glean information on the location of Arche Abbey, the base of the Alchemists. His master eventually relented, after which he killed him and, seeking to take revenge on humanity, sought to reach the island and kill all the Alchemists he could find. On his journey, he began to view murder as an artform and slaughtered anyone he came across, among them the Venigni family, who engineered the very first automated puppets.
While he acknowledged this act was what lead to what he viewed as the enslavement of the puppets, he didn't care, only seeking to kill them due to how happy they were. The couple begged them to spare their son, Lorenzini, which he did, but only to prove to himself that he was not a machine and had free will, as well as to see how the traumatized child would develop, stealing an unfinished Moon World Warrior toy from the parents as a trophy. The Alchemists covered up the incident, disguising it as a mugging. Though Arlecchino wished to be recognized for his acts, he was nevertheless happy to see that it contributed to the child's trauma, as Lorenzini knew who had really taken the lives of his parents. He continued to stalk the Venigni boy, viewing him as his greatest 'masterpiece.'
When he finally arrived at the island, his attempted murder spree failed and he was badly beaten and pinned to a wall. Despite this, he sought to find ways to pass the time. When Simon Manus built a machine on the island to harness Sophia Monad's ability to absorb Ergo, Arlecchino siphoned some of it, using it to interact with telephones across Krat to toy with people using riddles, earning him the nickname King of Riddles. However, with the outbreak of the Puppet Frenzy Petrification Disease pandemic, most of the population of Krat wound up dead, leaving him without victims until a phone was picked up by P. He questioned the advanced puppet with riddles throughout various locations, rewarding him with Trinity Keys to open sanctums he had left behind should he get the answer right.
When P reached Arche Abbey in pursuit of Sir Manus, he found Arlecchino within. Surprised to see P in person, Arlecchino asked if he had spilled much blood on the way, and gave P his final riddle, asking him if he was a human or puppet. When P answered human, he was overjoyed and announced his retirement, explaining his philosophy to P. P then questioned him on his past and origins, to which he revealed his tenure as a serial killer and his killing of Venigni parents, which he described as a 'delectable murder.' He gifted P the toy he had stolen, sadistically telling him to give it to the man so that he would remember him.
Quotes[]
| “ | Not everything has to rhyme, you know. I'm not a caricature. I'm the King of Riddles! | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino. |
| “ | They have locked us in the prison they call "puppetry." I learned this long, long ago... that is why I've been exacting my revenge against them all ever since. | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino explains his philosophy. |
| “ | Are you a puppet? Or a human being? Which are you? | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino's final riddle to P. |
| “ | Finally! You understand. Yes, we are human. We may be trapped by Ergo, but we live. We think. We love. We hate. | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino when P states that he is human. |
| “ | Humanity sullied its own sanctum long before I found it. Blasphemed against itself. Against us. By playing god! | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino's views on humanity. |
| “ | Venigni... A beautiful fool, but a fool nonetheless. A mere slip of a boy when I met him. And did he ever thank me for making him an orphan with my bare hands? For giving him everything he has on a silver platter by removing the deadweight holding him back? Of course I'm not sorry. It was a delectable murder. Of the many, many I have comitted since, the Venignis - they have to be my personal favorites. They engineered the very first automated puppets. Enslaved puppets without even understanding what they'd done. I didn't go there to take revenge for what his parents did. I mainly just wanted to slaughter them because they were so damned happy. | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino reveals he murdered Lorenzini Venigni's parents. |
| “ | And it was a choice driven by that most human of emotions: curiosity. If the child survived... would he be traumatized for life? Become a coward? A vengeful, puppet-hating bigot? A despairing wretch? Would he fling himself into the sea, I wonder. Would he remember the devil that orphaned him before his eyes was a puppet? Would he remember Arlecchino? | „ |
| ~ Arlecchino reveals why he spared Lorenzini. |
Trivia[]
- After learning of his killing of Venigni's parents, P is able to kill Arlecchino like any enemy.
- The visual appearance and posing of his physical body are based on Brau-1589 from Pluto, who in turn is based on the Blue Knight from Astro Boy.
- His name refers to one of the marionettes that was owned by Mangiafuoco, who were all created from the same tree as Pinocchio.
External Links[]
- Arlecchino on the Pure Evil Wiki
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Alchemists Puppets Stalkers Other | ||