It's interesting how out of all the main character of Evillious, Riliane is the only one who truly repents. Though I did need to alter her character a little to make things work without the presence of demons. Disclaimer: I don't own Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Danganronpa, or the Evillious Chronicles.
Jojolion Chapter 41: Pride of Riliane
Much like in the backstory of the song, it was originally Riliane's twin brother Alexiel who was meant to inherit the throne. But due to machinations of those who wanted the kingdom for themselves, Alexiel had to be hidden away and declared dead, leaving Riliane to inherit upon her mother's death in 1379. But as the ministers who orchestrated all this learned, they were better off obeying the late king's will. What they failed to take into account was that Riliane was incredibly spoiled, having had no expectations of inheriting the throne and no idea how to truly run a nation.
As it happened, they were being played by another of the sect wanting to unleash the power of Original Sin, in this case an individual named Superbia. He presented the new crown princess, which Riliane insisted on being called until she came of age, with the Four Mirrors of Lucifenia. Now the Venom Sword was obvious, and one could reasonably understand with the Glass of Conchita, but how could the Four Mirrors transfer the virus, you may be asking. As it happened, there was a trick to it. Normally with a hand mirror, you hold it up to your face. And on the sides of this mirror's frames were small pinpricks, which could work in a manner not unlike the Stand arrows.
Riliane did in fact possess Stand potential, and the Stand she gained came to be called Viva La Vida. Its true power could allow one to make a country last almost forever, but Riliane's pride and arrogance inhibited her Stand's power. That said, it did give her access to a powerful army, since all of the kingdom's soldiers were loyal without question, and she could use her Stand to resurrect them as needed. Beyond that, she began to drive the kingdom into the ground, never once considering the lives of her subjects, and executing anyone who spoke out against her. The one person she trusted was her servant Allen, whom she recognized as her beloved brother Alexiel.
Things finally went downhill for Riliane soon after her fourteenth birthday, when she grew jealous of a young girl who had caught the eye of her fiance, whom she was very much in love with, and had the girl's country ransacked. This caused her own people to finally snap, and bring about revolution in AD 1380. Without her Stand's true power, even her endless army met its match, and she realized she had gone too far. Allen provided the means for her to escape, taking advantage of the fact that they were twins and could pass for each other.
This much of the backstory was true, Allen pretended to be the princess while Riliane made her escape. But where it differs is what happened in the aftermath. After Allen was executed as Riliane, Riliane was distraught, never realizing the revolutionaries would go so far. Not wanting to leave her brother alone in the afterlife, she confronted her fiance and revealed everything, offering to atone. That's right, instead of living out her life as a nun like in the story, she let herself be killed by the one man who would likely hate her the most. He ultimately went through with it, but in her last moments he offered his forgiveness.
Riliane had actually been rather close to unlocking her Stand's true power before her death. But Honami's insistence on authority brought Riliane's Pride back full force. Yet Riliane had learned from what had happened with Sateriasis and Banica. She knew what the key to her freedom was, and she was willing to go through with it. But she had to make a show of submission in the meantime. Those groups from Hope's Peak Academy were coming through the metro and all its tests searching for the ones summoned by the Original Sin.
"Well, I for one do not intend to hide," Riliane said aloud. She snapped her fingers, and her army filled the tunnels. "This should bring them running." Soon enough, the area started to get really hot, causing the soldiers to start roasting in their own armor, right before it turned so cold that the armor started to crack, much to the army's confusion. Just then, three figures approached at high speed. Two looked identical, large men wearing nothing but skin-tight briefs, boots and bull masks, and a third that looked like the Greek monster called the Minotaur.
It was Gozu using his Stand Immortals, alongside Ian, who had shifted into Gozu. Of course with his power active, even a Stand users would ignore that he was actually much heftier than the real Gozu. Daisaku was behind them, having used his Stand to create the temperature alterations. "Right where you said she'd be," Daisaku said to Chihiro, "The narrow stream can still hold a large salmon." "What does that even mean?," Riliane asked. "I make these sayings up as I go along," Daisaku admitted, "The don't really have any meaning."
Sakura leapt into the air over the living battering ram of Gozu, his Stand, and Ian, with Ryota right behind them. The Ultimate Martial Artist aimed right for the mounted commander. "Red Garland!" Both mount and rider were toppled in a flurry of punches. A series of explosions caught Riliane's attention, as Korekiyo was also running into the thick of it. "Napalm Death!" He drew a quick kanji in midair, which exploded and knocked several soldiers on their rears. Angie already had her stand active, using the divine shield to protect the group from the archers in the army, and returning fire with her divine energy.
A stray shot hit Riliane, knocking her unconscious. Her last thought before the lights went out was to send her army away. When she woke up, she saw Mikan kneeling over her, Cardigans active and applying its healing powers. "Angie I think you overdid it." "My bad," Angie said, "I was just listening for where Atua said the army would be at its weakest. I didn't expect Riliane to be in the shot's path." Riliane chuckled. "Actually... I think I am the weak link in the army. Even in Chess, if you checkmate the king you win, no matter how many troops your enemy has left."
She sat up. "So, it seems you're far stronger than any of us could have foreseen. Honami seemed to think it was possible to simply breeze through quickly to where the book was and grab it, but if you're actively hunting for us... Then there's nothing we can do. And by the way." She turned to Mikan. "Thanks for the aid." She saw her shackle slip off her neck and breathed a sigh of relief. "The only downside is now Honami has access to my power, and I don't know if it refers to the old version, or my true power." "We're bound to find out by the end of this," Korekiyo noted, "Whether we want to or not."
I won't say anything about that yet, but we'll get to it before long. In the meantime, here's Riliane's Stand.
Viva La Vida (Song by Cold Play)
User: Riliane Lucifen d'Autriche
Ability: A Stand of authority, Viva La Vida is meant to allow its user to see all that a territory needs to prosper, enhancing certain individuals of the user's choosing and elevating them to superhuman ability to facilitate this prosperity. No matter what the situation, the user can always awaken them, even from death, so long as they are loyal. However, Riliane is too consumed by her pride and as such can only really call upon her army from her time, and even then only at its normal strength. If Riliane were ever to balance her pride with humility, she would unlock the Stand's true potential. The stats below are for the Stand's true power.
Power: B
Speed: B
Range: A
Durability: B
Precision: A
Potential: B
I chose this song not because it embodies Pride, but rather that it embodies what happens when Pride brings about a fall, which perfectly describes what happened with Riliane. Read and review.
