Sūmi Masēn

Sūmi Masēn (ませーん・すーみ, Masēn Sūmi) is a female Mage belonging to a Dark Guild named Faux Babylon. Being one of the founding members of said guild, Sūmi is considered to be of S-Class-level strength and holds a position roughly equivalent of it. She is a member of the team Twisted Sirens; the very backbone of Faux Babylon. Unlike most other members of the Twisted Sirens, she does not team up with anyone from the team when engaging others in combat, but instead teams up with her Kyoshī (僵屍, Lit. Hopping Vampire) Sheema Cobanette (コバネット・シーマ, Kobanetto Shīma). Although teaming up is an overstatement; she usually only utilizes her as a living weapon.

Appearance
Like most of her guildmates, Sūmi looks suspiciously youthful; especially for a woman that is in the middle of her thirties. She may seem petite when levitating in the air, but she is in fact of a completely average height. Sūmi rarely ever stands up and mostly sits in an almost crouched position when flying in the air. This position only serves to amplify the impression of her being unusually tiny. Compared to the other members of Faux Babylon, she is indeed relatively tiny, but still tall enough to have a height that is considered to be average among regular humans. Furthermore, she has an almost doll-like complexion and large, baby-blue eyes that enhance the illusion of her being child-like. In some aspects, she may be fairy-like, seeing as she is moderately small, almost always floats and has an otherworldly manner of acting. The only hints that reveal that she is not as young as one would initially think, are the slight bags underneath her eyes that exist as a result of not sleeping enough. However, these ever so slight imperfections are usually covered by red eye-shadow; making her look even more bizarre than she initially does.

As for her usual clothing; they are all of a distinct shade of blue. Her single color scheme further invokes her image as an otherworldly character. She wears a baby blue dress; slightly brighter than her eyes. The dress has puffed sleeves and ends on the middle of her upper arm. It is rather tight around her waist and bust, but grows gradually looser and becomes quite poofy in the end, thanks to a light hoop skirt. It has thus rendered the fabric much shorter than it initially is. Initially, the dress could have reached her ankles with ease, but thanks to the undergarment it only reaches her thighs. It is fairly noticeable that she wears a lace skirt underneath her dress, in ordet to cover up her underwear since she levitates. Around her waist, she wears a tight, black belt with a tiny, pink flower attached to her right side. In order to attach the belt, there are small holes around the waist on the dress; quite similar to the belt loops of jeans. If one looks thoroughly at the fabric of the dress, one can notice that it is made of silk and has a few floral patterns here and there. According to Sūmi herself, the dress used to be a kimono, but it was tossed away by the creator and Sūmi found it and restored it; turning it into a dress in the process. Apparently, she has several different wests that she wears over this dress. All of them are white with blue print, but in different patterns and lengths. The shortest one only reaches her upper abdomen, whereas longer ones reach her hips. These wests all have collars that are bent neatly downwards. The shorter one's collar has ruffles on the end.

Clothing aside; her physical appearance may in itself be described as remarkable or even eccentric compared to others. Befitting the aloof blue theme of her overall appearance, she has both blue hair and blue eyes. They're almost identical, although her eyes are much more vivid in color than her hair. Her eyes are large, but almost always halfway-closed; as if Sūmi isn't interested in what is going on around her. The brows above her eyes are thin and unusually far above her eyes; making it seem as if she is constantly surprised. This specific trait conflicts with the perpetual expression her eyes always make; easily rendering her somewhat unsettling compared to many. In addition, she is seen with a pseudo-perpetual smile plastered across her face, regardless of the situation. This face is said to invoke the same fear in people as clowns do; simply because of the sheer creepiness the ambivalence presents. As for her hair, it could best be described as intricate and unique. It is of shoulder-length and as already mentioned; quite blue. Her bangs are styled in a manner where it swept to both sides, except for a lock that curves slightly to the right and hangs over the middle of her forehead. But what really makes her hair so strange, are the two hair loops in Chinese style. In order to keep them attached, she wears an oversized hairpin in her hair. Oversized in this case is not an understatement; it is quite literally as long as her arm. This is in fact a Magic artifact she possess, called Yamasuki (山鋤, Lit. Mountain Plow). Another quite peculiar artifact that Sūmi possess, is a long piece of cloth; longer than her, that apparently too possess magical effects. She frequently sits on this almost translucent cloth and floats through the air by using Levitation Magic on the cloth. Whenever she isn't floating, Sūmi wears the cloth as a shawl that floats behind her head. Notably, she also wears two red threads around her upper calves and attached to the left one, is a single talisman in the form of a piece of paper with symbols on it.

Personality
While Faux Babylon is indeed classified as a Dark Guild, it is not because the members themselves are heartless or sociopathic. It is primarily because they acquired Lost Magic illegally through some kind of ritual linked to the Black Arts, even though it was not intentional. However, a single member of the guild was already a wanted criminal prior to the official founding of the organization and that was Sūmi Masēn; the Wicked Hermit. Even prior to becoming a Dark Mage, she was considered to be amoral and unscrupulous by others. There is little doubt in the fact that she is a psychopath and cannot be considered sane by others. She hardly ever displays any kind of emotion and she firmly believes that she never had them in the first place. That does not just apply to her; others believe that she has always been like this as well. Due to her mysterious past, which she refuses to reveal to even the other members, it is unknown if she always was a sociopath. But as deduced by Wilma Vermillion; it is unlikely that she was not born a psychopath. Despite this, however, there is little doubt in the fact that she is one of the nicer and more sociable members of the guild. She often very open towards trespassers; either if they are intentional or not. Usually, she allows Sheema to fetch them and bring them to her room; seeing as the other members often kill trespassers upon sight. Instead, she tends to just invite them to her room and keep them company before murdering them. Apparently, she seems genuinely nice to others and often laments the fact that "her beloved guests" have to perish. This is simply because she is fascinated by humanity and the will of humans. But due to the fact that she is a psychopath, her interest is limited and she easily tires of most people. She is said to stalk those she is interested in, but if Sūmi is capable of understanding these people, she will indubitably tire of them quickly.

Despite her interest in humanity and how it unfolds, Sūmi is noted to be particularly cruel and aloof. In fact, she flat out disregards the morals of humanity, especially through the Magic she received from the Master of Faux Babylon. As she does not really care about the fact that her minion Sheema is nothing but a puppet in body, it just proves that she really does not care for anyone but herself. As mentioned, many view her as flat out malicious, since she has many schemes that she attempts to bring to life. She is sometimes regarded as a coward, since she always works behind the scenes and tends to cover herself with minions. Sūmi simply dismisses this as necessary, seeing as though a mastermind needs followers in order to execute her plans. Just like any other person, she views her own followers as nothing but chess pawn, yet woos them over into her service by tempting them with incredible rewards. These temptations are nothing but empty lies and her henchmen are often caught in traps by Rune Knights, whereas she escapes. It is because of this she is an infamous criminal and why she is regarded as a coward by the rest of the world. The plan to discover Withered Eden was in fact hers to begin with and she only wooed Flynn Egozu to gather people because she figured that he would be useful for her purposes. Not to mention that she was the only one that knew about the consequences following the Ritual of Ecstasy that the seven of them executed inside the ancient palace. Because she is the only one that doesn't mind being cursed by the Magic, Sūmi is somewhat of a pariah. According to herself, it has "made her become a very sad person", although it does not seem as if she minds, since she does not find the lot of them to be particularly worthy of her interest.

This is perhaps her strangest trait; she has no interest in material gain. For someone that is considered to be a villain by others, this is extraordinary strange. By using the Yamasuki, she is able to enter any place as she pleases, but she is rarely ever interested in anything else than the people inside. Her interest in humanity has been repeatedly described as downright creepy. Because she could have all the gold she desires, Sūmi has lost interest in it. As a matter of fact, she hardly ever finds the rewards to be interesting, but rather prefers the chase over the prize. As she has a short attention span, The Wicked Hermit is seldom entertained by the same things over and over. In a manner reminiscent of a spoiled child, Sūmi discards items, people and animals behind wherever she goes. The only thing that remains permanent is Sheema Kobanette; her beloved departed pet. Even so, she is evidently already fed-up with her undead pet's cautious personality and persistence. But as a result of her psychopathy, she does not really get angry; only frustrated at the fact that she is not willing to simply resign to her fate. Due to the fact that she views just about anything as a game, she is devious and downright manipulative in order for things to go her way. Much thanks to the fact that she possesses a natural charm, her plans tend to go her way. Usually, not in the exact way she intended, though she does not complain either way, just as long as she is entertained.

History
Like the other members of Faux Babylon, Sūmi's past remain largely unknown. However, bits and pieces about her is known, seeing as she was a wanted criminal prior to joining Flynn Egozu in his search. She used various organizations to pursue her own goals and became known as The Wicked Hermit due to this. By sacrificing her entire crew in a cave, she managed to obtain her most powerful artifact yet, which is the Yamasuki. It was thanks to this artifact that she was able to retrieve an old textbook that detailed the existence of the palace Withered Eden; said to hold Magic lost in time. But it was also said to be cursed with a great evil that no one could escape. Knowing that any potential henchmen or puppets would become skeptical by this, Sūmi tore the pages straight out of the book and ate them. Through spying and utilizing her secret network, she managed to contact Flynn Egozu; a desperate man that had just lost his wife and kids. Manipulating him into believing that the palace held Magic that could revive his wife and locate his children, Flyyn soon gathered an expedition crew consisting of exactly seven members, including himself. As the other members were forced to traverse through the traps of the Withered Eden's palace, Sūmi simply traveled through the walls and met them at the end of the dungeon. There, she started the Ritual of Ecstasy; a spell belonging to the Black Arts that granted the lot of them Lost Magic. Being the only one that was thrilled about the development, Sūmi, like the rest of them, figured out that they were incapable of exiting the palace; much to everyone's frustration. She, like the rest of them, came to accept the palace as a home and seeing as it is currently traveling around Fiore while flying, is not as bored as she thought that she would be.

At an unknown point in the past, she managed to contact people from the outside and requested that they would retrieve the corpse of a powerful Mage for her so she could try out her Magic. The corpse they brought her was the one of Shima Kobanette. Seeing as she managed to bring her back as an undead, the procedure was a success; even though Sūmi and Shima killed the deliverers soon afterwards. She has since received a continuous supply of corpses from the outside world, as a result of the fact that the undead can leave the Withered Eden.

Equipment
Yamasuki (山鋤, Lit. Mountain Plow): Sūmi possesses a certain tool that she is never seen without and this is the Yamasuki. It takes on the appearance of an oversized hairpin that is about as long as its wielders arm. It consists of two independent parts; the "hilt" and the end. The hilt is what compromises most of the Yamasuki and is about 64 cm (25" inches) long, jet-black in terms of color and quite thin. It appears as if it is made out of wood; most likely ebony. The end of the stick is noticeably ornamented with golden; turning it into some sort of golden pommel. Two golden threads are attached to it, with brass balls shaped like pearls descending from them as they descend. There are approximately four pearl-shaped brass balls and they both end with golden ornaments shaped like tears. Attached to the pommel is a rather large bell-like substance; also composed out of gold. It is hollow in the middle and an eerie white energy is seen radiating from it. Occasionally, pink dust falls out of as Sūmi levitate, making it seem as if her body releases fairy dust. She retrieved it from a vault inside an underground complex that was built millenniums ago and allowed her accomplices to fetch it for her. Her suspicions towards the pedestal where the hairpin was kept were soon confirmed; it was indeed booby-trapped. The ones who picked it up were petrified and Sūmi could cheerfully plow her way through the walls with her freshly acquired treasure in order to get out. It is an esoteric artifact that is heard of by many; but believed by few. Unfortunately for the Yamasuki and the myths surrounding it, the Wicked Hermit was one of those few believers. She found an accurate sketch depicting the Yamasuki on top of a pedestal through her contacts and it immediately caught her attention. Through further utilizing her contacts further and obtaining various dungeon maps, most of which were fake, Sūmi finally managed to pinpoint the real location of the Yamasuki.

Even though its powers are vastly overrated in the tales surrounding it, it is indeed a powerful artifact that should be feared. This is evident because it is the sole material possession Sūmi clings to; and so to speak, she is notorious for not being materialistic. The Yamasuki, when pulled out of her hair, has the ability to travel through walls. Although, maybe not in the way one would think. Instead of making the user intangible, it literally makes a hole in the wall that the user can travel through. The hole is designed to just fit the user's body type perfectly and thus, the holes for Sūmi are supposedly small. But that is not all there is to say about it. The Yamasuki's abilities are far more complex than that. While it can "dig" holes in physical walls, the effectivity often the tool depends on the density. Surprisingly, the denser the wall, the easier it is to dig through. A wall of concrete, for example, would be much easier to dig through than a wall of rubber. Despite the fact that its ability is supposedly "to travel through walls", it is not restricted to vertical walls. It does work on anything that is flat; the horizontal ground, a diagonally placed plank or things of irregular sizes, such as a church bell. Even so, it is not that effective against water that stands still. Moving water is a different story and it can create holes in currents and whirlpools. But the holes the Yamasuki creates do not cause imbalance. As a matter of fact, the holes always close themselves whenever Sūmi has traveled through them. Others can join her on this travel through holes, though she must permit that to happen. As such, only Sheema is usually seen following her master intently as she pursues her strange fixations.

Cloth of the Fairies (妖精の布, Yōsei no Nuno): Another artifact that Sūmi is never seem without. Far simpler in appearance than the Yamasuki, the Cloth of the Fairies is a long, translucent sash that wraps itself around its owner's arms, acting like a shawl. It is a very long sash and can be described as mythical, as its appearance is much more mysterious than the more common Yamasuki. Possessing a gruesome story behind it, the Cloth of the Fairies is said to bring nothing but misfortune to those around it. It is said that the sash originated a long time ago; in an age lost in time, prior to the existence of civilization. According to the story, fairies ruled the Earth at this time and that they had discovered Magic. They harnessed this mysterious power and in turn became more powerful; yet they did not learn the puny humans below them how to utilize this abundance. They feared that once the humans learned to use this power, they would revolt against the superior fairies and slowly cause the world to decay. But unbeknownst to the poor fairies, something far worse happened as a result of the fact that they kept the Magic to themselves. The humans did revolt and the fairies attempted to stop them. Although to no avail. The humans were far more plentiful than the fairies. In numbers they found strength and their rulers were mostly slain. The remaining ones fled into the shadows; disappearing from humanity.

It is said that the humans cut off the wings of the fairies and wove them together, thus creating the Cloth of the Fairies. But whether this story has any relevance or truth inside is unknown. What is known, however, is that this sash is an ancient artifact of an unknown material that possesses several unique qualities. The foremost quality of the sash is that it detects Magic and is said to be attracted to individuals with powerful Magic. Thus, it rejects the wearer unless the person is powerful enough. In a sense, it has a will of its own, but a simple one at that. It can thus inform Sūmi about the magical level of the opponent without problems. The second ability is a particularly nasty one; by attaching itself to a target, it can absorb the person's magical power, thus hampering the opponent much. If Sūmi holds in the other end of the sash, she will receive the power the Cloth of the Fairies absorbs; ensuring that her supply is always filled. It does without tearing; which serves as a feat of it elasticity. It can almost extend indefinitely, though it is known that it has a limit. What that limit is, is unclear. If cut, the sash will just repair itself, rendering resistance futile. However, the sash is very picky with whom it attaches itself to. It is only willing to do this to opponents that either possesses as much magical power as Sūmi or more. Anything less, it will regard with disdain.

Powers & Abilities
Plant Magic (プラントマジック, Puranto Majikku): Prior to obtaining the Magic of Kyoshī, Sūmi utilized two different kinds of Magic. A Holder Magic-variation of Plant Magic was one of these two kinds of Magic she utilized. It can be described as a Magic which allows its users to create and/or control rapid-growing plants to battle. It can be utilized by the use of Magical seeds or by a Mage's own Magical power. Usually, to carry the seeds, Live-Coal Containers are used. Unlike most Holder variations of this Magic however, Sūmi does not utilize or keep seeds to manipulate plants. Instead, she tends to touch the flower attached to her belt and grabs some pollen in her hands. By throwing this pollen on a surface or in the air causes something to sprout; usually instantaneously. However, she can spread the pollen all over a battlefield and leave it dormant for a good portion of the battle before she decides to awaken the Magic from the slumber. It can be described as akin to the flower attached to her belt, which is a lotus. Lotus flowers are renowned for being able to lay dormant for several years prior to rooting itself permanently. If her plants are destroyed by incoming attacks, the Wicked Hermit has demonstrated capacities to revive said plants by merely stating "Awaken" (目覚める, Mezameru). After the plant has outlived its usefulness, it will promptly wither and its seeds will fall to the ground. Although she is indeed a powerful user of this Magic, this has never been Sūmi's main branch of Magic. In fact, even prior to obtaining Kyoshī, this was only a supplementary Magic that she used more to impress or escape than to deal damage to her opponents. Regardless, she is capable of doing so if she would want to, seeing as several of her plants are specifically designed to trap and suffocate unlucky individuals that get too close. The plants that she utilize most frequently appear to be plants belonging to the lotus kind, although she has been observed to utilize rafflesia, roses and lilies in her delicate flora illusions as well.
 * Lotus Law (蓮法, Hasu-hō): A technique designed more for comfort than offense, Lotus Law can be said to be a wasted spell at best. In order to utilize it, Sūmi touches the lotus flower on her belt as it exerts pollen. She grabs a handful and then throws it into the air. A vast, white lotus flower will then appear and spin around in the air for a few seconds. As it remains aloft in the air even when pressure it applied to it, Sūmi can freely use it as a chair. If too much pollen is thrown in the air, several small lotus flowers will appear alongside the large one; making the entire spell seem like a cascade of floral display. The flower is a bit larger than the Wicked Hermit herself and quite durable, rendering it to be an excellent chair. Although it is most frequently placed in the empty air, it can be used other places as well, such as in a pond, on the ground or on top of other creatures. If placed in a body of water, the lotus will float like an inner tube, although it will root itself to the bottom of the water basin too. As far as others know, this spell is only used for show and comfort. However, it has a fair few practical usages too. As the lotus is resilient to damage, from both magic and melee, it works as a superb impromptu shield. If it is cast in the right direct, the flower crown is held out in front of her Sūmi's body and prepared to take any incoming damage. Even if the Wicked Hermit is forced back by the sheer force, she will rarely be damaged; the lotus often absorbs the impact. However, it is only useful once and will immediately wither after that.
 * Blue Withdrawal (青逃避, Aotōhi): A coward's technique; Blue Withdrawal is designed to ensure an individual's safe escape from harm. Unlike the spores of that are used for Lotus Law, the spores for this spell are not only drawn from the flower that is attached to her belt. Sūmi also mixes some blue powder that she keeps in a vial underneath her belt into the pollen and blows it towards the intended victim. By doing so, the pollen will turn into a blue cloud of dust the conceals the area and makes navigating very difficult. The spores are specifically designed to irritate eyes, noses and throats of those that end up trapped in the cloud. As it rapidly expands, it is not a simple task to escape the cloud. It is otherwise harmless, however. It will dissipate after approximately ten minutes and can be called a very durable spell. Regardless, it possesses a glaring weakness; Wind Magic or any derivatives of it. With those opponents blowing away the spores with ease, it is a difficult spell to use near someone like that. In an attempt at clever trickery, Sūmi can hide other spores inside this mist and force them to burst into bloom after the irritating cloud dissipates.

Lightning Magic (雷系各種魔法, Kaminari Kei Kakushu Mahō): The other Magic that Sūmi primarily utilized prior to obtaining Kyoshī. It is a Caster Magic variation of this Elemental Magic and as the name insinuates, revolves around the manipulation of lightning. It centers around manipulation of lightning for both offensive and defensive purposes. Sūmi's mastery over this can be described as somewhat odd. While she is indeed capable of channel electricity through her body and generate bolts of lightning that can strike her intended targets, she usually does not do so. Her usage mostly consists of creating orbs of electricity through an advanced molding technique. The orbs are said to be made up of lightning bolts that spin around and are surrounded by a shell of magical power. This husk around the lightning is thin, however and upon contact with a person, the orbs will instantaneously burst and release large amounts of energy through their bodies. Because of her mastery of this Magic, it seems as though Sūmi never charges her electricity at all and releases multiple electrical orbs at the same time. But what is more frightening, is their homing ability. The orbs of electrical energy will chase down targets that move as a result of them being ordered to track down a specific source of magical energy. Compared to other users of Lightning Magic, however, Sūmi's variation can be described as being slow at best. In fact, the orbs travel only slightly faster than the Wicked Hermit herself does through the air. Though she specializes in creating orbs, she is more than capable of using more orthodox electrical methods. For instance, is she able to add an electrical field around an object to protect it from potential perpetrators. Out of all the other usages than creating electric orbs, her favorite must be electrocuting her undead pets. Because they are incapable of feeling any pain, they are perfect living bombs and she can therefore apply electricity to them as she sees fit. If they touch a living thing, said thing would receive powerful shocks. Unlike the regular yellow color that is more common for Lightning Magic, Sūmi's spells all are blue in color, with the exception of Burn in Violet, which is obviously violet in color.
 * Wicked Hermit: Fetal Movement (邪仙：胎動, Jasen: Taidō):
 * Wicked Hermit: Wicked Festival (邪仙：邪祭, Jasen: Jasai):
 * Butterfly Trap (蝶罠, Chōwana):
 * Execution: Evil Body (死刑：悪体, Shikei: Akukarada):
 * Himorogi Catastrophe (神籬破局, Himorogi Hakyoku):
 * Burn in Violet (むらさきにもえ, Murasaki ni Moe):

Kyoshī (僵屍, Lit. Hopping Vampire): A Magic that Sūmi obtained when the crew that later became Faux Babylon executed the forbidden spell Ritual of Ecstasy. It may be a tad bit confusing to others, seeing as the creatures that are awoken by this Magic are called Kyoshī, but the Magic also goes by the same name. It is classified as a Holder Magic, as the Mage is provided with talisman-like tags that they need to utilize this Magic. However, these tags are in truth nothing but regular paper that is dyed red. What makes them special, is the user's ability to draw various symbols on them in order to make them magical. In order to properly utilize this Magic, a dead body is required, seeing as the symbols on the talismans often are instructions. First, they are attached to the forehead of the body and then, by touching the torso of the body, Sūmi is then capable of transferring some of her magical power into the body and while the process occurs, the symbols of the tag will illuminate in a deep shade of wisteria purple. The body will then open its eyes; having been reborn as an undead. This Magic is described as both heinous and inconsiderate towards the human rights, as it raises the dead to be nothing but humanoid puppets that do whatever the user bids them to. It has been compared to Necromancy, but is noticeably different in nature. It is however, the one among the seven kinds of Magic that was handed out during the Ritual of Ecstasy that is closest to the Black Arts. The undead are also different from ones that one would perceive as "regular zombies". For starters are their bodies composed differently than ordinary bodies.

Inside of them are a myriad of metallic threads that attach the appendages to the torso; arms, legs, even the head. If an appendage is removed, the threads will prevent it from detaching and they will just reattach. It is therefore extraordinarily difficult to destroy Kyoshī. By using Magic one can handle them with ease, but if the Kyoshī itself was a Mage during life, they can parry with their own spells. Not to mention that the user can share their own Magic with the undead, the exception being Kyoshī; meaning that Sūmi's undead may utilize Levitation Magic, Plant Magic and Lightning Magic in addition to their own Magic. The second difference would be their consciousness. When a Kyoshī is resurrected, they will not be mindless slaves. As a matter of fact, they retain their personalities, memories and intelligence. However, their bodies are completely under the caster's commands; essentially trapping them. The only thing they can control are their mouths, allowing them to speak. Many of them, however, lose their will to remain in existence because they feel trapped and eventually decide to just 'erase' themselves; leaving them as nothing but zombies. Sheema Kobanette, however, has demonstrated a dedication few others have, because she has remained conscious for many years. Compared to Daishi Kumuro (クムロ・ダイシ, Kumuro Daishi), an undead that lost his will to exist, Sheema has a much more lifelike disposition. When a Kyoshī is resurrected, it ceases to rot completely. However, the picking of a potential Kyoshī must be carefully planned, as a body that is already rotten or damaged will not be able to repair itself. In other words; only an untarnished body will do. Regular undead usually finds comfort in numbers, because they are only as strong as regular humans, but this does not apply to the Kyoshī. They are freakishly strong by nature and possess the ability to snap a grown man's neck with a single uppercut. They are not hindered by having a regular human body and can use their strength freely. Like many undead, the bite of a Kyoshī is infectious. If you die because of a biting wound inflicted, you will too become one. If it is not lethal, you will only temporarily become a pseudo-Kyoshī; a human that can be commanded by the user of Kyoshī Magic. While the user can in theory resurrect an indefinite number of Kyoshī, it is virtually impossible to do so in practice, because the user needs to be aware of all their subjects to do so. If the user is no longer aware of Kyoshī, they will promptly return to being an inanimate corpse.

Even though they are strong and durable, most of them are also rather rigid. Because of the threads inside them, their upper bodies and legs are flexible, but the same does not apply to the arms. They are often stiff and outstretched in a manner similar to the traditional zombie. Kyoshī can, however, move their arms to the sides and grab onto targets. Certain Kyoshī do have flexible arms as well, but they have usually been turned into Kyoshī only moments after their death. The negatives of a Kyoshī is that the only things that bind them to the caster's bidding, are the talismans on their foreheads. If they were to be removed, the Kyoshī would be free. However, the caster can dispel the curse instantaneously if necessary. Not to mention that the talismans are stuck to the foreheads of the Kyoshī; therefore it is about as difficult to rip off as an appendage. Being granted this Magic, however, comes with severe prices. The caster's body will become barren and the person will never be able to carry children. It also renders the receiver 'malicious' and thus despises sunshine. If the Kyoshī retains its consciousness, it could assist an enemy with taking down its summoner, seeing as they can freely talk with anyone around them. Sūmi masterfully excels in this Magic; using it as her primary source of offense. She has various Kyoshī that she keep around, not just Sheema Kobanette, even though she is the only one that is frequently shown around her master. She often treats them as nothing but puppets, but still affectionately refers to them as "her beloved pets". Often mistreating them out of sheer boredom, the Wicked Hermit frequently gives them simple tasks such as cleaning up her room, cooking dinner for her or act as guards in front of her door. Although, all of them with the exception of Sheema and Blair Popori (ポポリ・ブレアー, Popori Bureā) are incompetent when it comes to delicate tasks. In order to keep herself amused, the Wicked Hermit often forces her slaves to fight excruciatingly long duels with each other.

Trivia

 * Obviously, Sūmi Masēn's name is a pun on the Japanese phrase Sumimasen (すみません), which translates to "I am sorry".
 * Her theme song is Mansion of Puppets by SOUND HOLIC.

Behind the Scenes
Just like the other members of Faux Babylon, Sūmi Masēn's appearance is supposed to invoke the image of a corrupted fairy tale character and in her case, it is the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella. The author considers Sūmi to be the most distorted of all the members; seeing as the Fairy Godmother is originally a mentor figure that acts in the place of an actual godparent and that Sūmi Masēn is nothing but an aloof vigilante against materialism.