Hugo Vlad's Lore
Last updated 2026-09-10
Official Introduction
"My dear friend, I'll be back, like an avalanche."
"This world isn't fair. That's precisely why we must take certain necessary measures..."
"Haha, I was just joking around. A gentleman as powerless as myself would naturally never do anything improper... wouldn't you agree?"
Profile
Hugo Vlad is the leader of the infamous phantom thief syndicate Mockingbird, who expose the evil deeds of the corrupt and evil of soceity, bringing justice to an unfair world.
In public, Hugo dons the facade of a collector, running an art gallery and making mingling with the elite. From members of TOPS, like the Marcel Group (where his Bangboo, Robin holds a coaching position)[1], to prominent figures like Lord Edmund.[2]
Whilst performing heists or fighting, Hugo bears a smug yet cruel demeanor, usually showing his flair for the dramatic with edgy monologues. He uses an array of tools and weapons, including a flip knife and coins disguised as darts that he hides in his suitcase - that also doubles as an intimidating scythe capable of firing beams of ice.[3]
History
Born as the illegitimate child of the head of the infamous Ravenlock Family and a commoner mother, Hugo Vlad's life was full of despair since the day he was born. Due to noble blood running through his veins, Hugo's heterochromia was a subject of strife to his mother, believing that because of it, Hugo's father had left her. She saw his heterochromia as an imperfection, and later tried to gouge his paler eye out in hopes of killing him. Years later, Hugo's mother sold him to the Ravenlock Family and started a new life with the money. Though now in the hands of a prestigious family, Hugo was still treated horribly by the rest of his family, including their servants.[4]
A notable incident during his youth was when Hugo accidentally ate a slice of cake that one of his half-brothers had enjoyed. His siblings would then force Hugo to eat the rest of the cake and a whole table of desserts. Since then, Hugo has been unable to stomach sweet foods, but has to due to his hypoglycemia.[5]
There was only one person who treated Hugo kindly: Serena, his half-sister. The two would share sweets, and Serena would stand up to Hugo's abusive relatives and tend to the wounds they gave him.[6] Seeing the bond between the sister and illegitimate brother, their siblings schemed a way to get rid of them both and ease the competition; they killed Serena by poisoning her, then blamed her death on Hugo. However, instead of being expelled from the family, Hugo's Father praised his son for killing his sister and considered him to be a worthy heir. Hugo later avenged Serena by beating the ringleader behind her murder to near death.[4]
Unable to handle the abuse, Hugo fled his family when he was nearing adulthood. On the streets, he met Jack, an aging phantom thief, and Von Lycaon, his student. Jack took pity on the young noble and took him in, teaching him valuable life lessons and the art of thievery, tagging along for his heists.[6] He and Lycaon became partners in crime and close friends. Sometime before Jack's passing, Hugo overheard his ailing mentor talk with Lycaon in secret about him, warning the Thiren about the "seed of evil" inside Hugo, one he had inherited from his accursed family.[2]
When Jack died, Hugo and Lycaon buried him somewhere in the Outer Ring.[Note 1] Whilst standing by his grave, Hugo and Lycaon began their own phantom thief syndicate, naming it Mockingbird at Hugo's suggestion.
As the founders and only members of Mockingbird, Hugo and Lycaon made it their goal to strike fear into the hearts of the rich and aid the poor, whilst not causing harm to the lives of others, as Jack taught them.[7] They would add Robin a Bangboo to the team to assist with their missions. Hugo would often have to tutor Lycaon in his acting skills.[8]
During a mission, Hugo learnt that his father was coincidentally at their target location, driven by hatred for him, Hugo planned to kill his father in an act of revenge. When he finally confronted his father, Hugo hesitated, unable to kill his father. This hesitation had Mockingbird become intertwined in a scheme orchestrated by Hartman Ravenlock to take the title of family head by killing his brother and nephews by using a sudden Hollow incident to hide the evidence and eliminate innocents.[4] Lycaon found his partner surrounded by the bodies of innocent people and came to the conclusion that Hugo was responsible; angered by his supposed actions, Lycaon left Mockingbird and took the olive branch that Mayor Mayflower had offered them, being deemed a traitor by Hugo.[3] Lycaon then went off to save as many people as he could from the Hollow, losing both legs and an eye in the process.[4]
Now alone, Hugo drifted from place to place until a fateful encounter with Vivian, a young girl who bore a striking resemblance to the late Serena. Hugo took Vivian under his wing and taught her the ways he learnt from Jack, reforming Mockingbird in the process.[9] Now a thief once more, he would blend into society by becoming a collector and opening his own art gallery.[10] He also managed to secure a notable position for himself and Robin at Marcel Group.[1]
Years later, during the events of And the True Heroes Are Always Behind the Scenes, Hugo Vlad learnt of a band of thugs pretending to be Mockingbird who were soon brought to justice by his former partner, before he had a chance. Whilst thinking about the events, Hugo knew before long he would have a reunion with the traitor.[8] Hugo would later participate in the 'Ridu's Got Boo' beauty contest with Robin as his entry, he used the contest as a way to get close to Astra Yao and steal her self-produced copy of Stars of Lyra, replacing it with one of the limited edition copies produced by High Ambition Enterntainment.[11] One day, Hugo made a reservation to pick up a film from Random Play and became acquainted with the two siblings running the video store, his encounter reuinion with Von Lycaon would happen a few days later, leading to him getting involved with Phaethon's upcoming mission to retrieve a Sacrifice core, whilst concocting a scheme that would finally bring down the Ravenlock Family that involved him betraying the proxies to work with Hartman; be willingly drugged by him in the process with a mind-controlling drug he recieved from The Exaltists,[12] and faking his death with the assistance of his former partner.[13] Hugo would later fight off the effects of the poison and come to terms with his inner demons,[4] dragging himself out of the abyss and finally ridding himself of the Ravenlock name.[2]
Agent Weapon
Final Notice
A scythe disguised as a briefcase, Final Notice symbolizes "the very last warning letter delivered to sinners." Once delivered, the moment of judgement descends.
Final Notice is not only mysterious in form but also possesses the ability to transform fluidly — sometimes morphing into a cold, sharp blade to sever the wicked, other times shifting into a form suited for ranged combat to strike opponents when they least expect it.
As unpredictable as Hugo himself, the weapon acccompanies Hugo as he prowls through the night, taking on the mantle of both messenger and executioner.
Agent Trust
| Requirements | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Trust Rank |
Rewards | |
 Familiar |
|
— |
 Friendly |
|
5,000 |
 Close |
|
10,000 |
 Trusted |
|
15,000 |
Impressions
- He climbed out of the abyss and saw his true self.
- There never was any seed of evil.
- You're always free to be whoever you wish to be.
Agent Intel
Agent Details
Hugo calls himself a collector and runs a fairly successful gallery, mingling with the "elite" of New Eridu.
In truth, he's the leader of the phantom thieves syndicate, Mockingbird — and Lycaon's former partner.
Despite his cruel (edgy and dramatic) words, deep down he has his own sense of fairness and justice.
Records suggest that Hugo had a troubled childhood.
As the illegitimate son of the Ravenlocks, a long-established TOPS family, he was rejected by his mother from an early age because of his heterochromatic eyes.
His father bought him back like a cheap commodity, using him to provoke a cutthroat succession battle between his children. In that brutal struggle, the only one kind to Hugo — his sister, Serena — became the first to fall. The ones who orchestrated her death pinned the blame on Hugo, thinking it would destroy him. But to their shock, their father actually praised Hugo's actions, calling them the very traits a worthy heir should possess.
After running away from his family, Hugo met Lycaon and Jack and learned to be a phantom thief. After Jack passed away, Hugo and Lycaon formed Mockingbird together.
Later, during one of Mockingbird's missions, Hugo came face-to-face with his father. In a brief moment of hesitation, he chose not to take his revenge and kill him — an act of mercy that ended up costing the lives of many innocent people. His close friend Lycaon, due to a misunderstanding born from those circumstances, broke ties with him and ultimately left Mockingbird.
After drifting on his own for a while, Hugo met Vivian, a girl who reminded him of his sister Serena. He took her under his wing and reformed the Mockingbird syndicate.
Agent Intel 1
Trust Rank: Close
Back during his time with the Ravenlock family, Hugo once ate a piece of cake that his older brother liked. In retaliation, the other children forced him to eat an entire table's worth of desserts.
Ever since, the taste of anything sweet makes him want to throw up — likely due to PTSD.
But due to his hypoglycemia, he needs sugar to keep his body functioning properly. Hugo forces himself to eat sweets over and over, pushing through the nausea to overcome the pain.
Note: Neither Lycaon nor Vivian knows about this, and Hugo once asked you to keep it a secret from them.
Cooperation Notes
|
Belle |
|---|---|
| Let's just say, the fact that Hugo hasn't gone off the deep end or become a sociopath is already quite the achievement. | |
|
Wise |
| Sometimes I wonder what Hugo would've been like if he'd had a normal upbringing... But then again, it's those very experiences that made him who he is. |
Video Store Promotion
| Promoter | Unlock Requirement |
Daily Bonus |
Promotion Style | Promotion Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hugo Vlad |
Children of Devils Children of Devils |
Basic Freeze Chip x5 |
Manipulator Hugo seems to be just sitting in the video store, leisurely flipping through various videotape descriptions... yet the store's revenue continues to rise! It turns out his promotion is happening online. He cleverly extracts scenes from movies, easily stirring people's curiosity or anger, only to reveal in the end that it's all just a movie... |
What they call promotion is simply manipulating people's attention through various means... I'm quite good at it. |
Commissions and Events
Phaethon's Story Episodes
- Bury Your Tears With the Past (A)
- Episode 1: A Gentleman's Visit
- Episode 2: With great power comes great...
- Episode 5: Destined to Meet Again
- Episode 8: Dark Side
- Episode 9: Behind the Scenes
- Episode 10: Before Taking the Stage
- Episode 11: Destiny at Your Fingertips
- Bury Your Tears With the Past (B)
- Episode 6: The Mockingbird's Still Alive
- Episode 7: Long-Lost Harmony
- Episode 8: Those With Steadfast Ambition
- Episode 9: Applause for the Mockingbird
- Episode 10: The Ending She Foresaw
- Episode 11: The Song for Tomorrow
- Encore for an Old Dream
- Episode 8: This Night Is Gilded
Agent Story Episodes
Special Episode Episodes
Story Commissions
Trust Commissions
- Promoter: Another Story
- Trust Rank Friendly: As Yesterday Dies
Quality Time Commissions
- Trust Invite: A Tapestry of Tales
- Wish Event: Ambition
- Wish Event: In Plain Sight
- Trust Invite: Master of Refreshments
- Trust Invite: Reflections of the Past
- Wish Event: Supposed Purpose of Life
- Wish Event: The Most Treasured Collection
- Trust Invite: The Phantom Thief’s Confession
- Wish Event: Workaholic
Events
- The Day of Brilliant Wishes
- Say It With Flowers
- Tales of Midsummer Dreams
- Chronicle of Counseling
- Wish Filing Station
Character Mentions
Agent Intel
| Agent | Intel |
|---|---|
Inter-Knot Posts
- (Post) Breaking News!! Mockingbird is DONE!!!
- (Post) Hey everyone, does anyone know how to join Mockingbird?
- (Post) Is Mockingbird a bit too active lately?
- (Post) Waaaaaaahhh... Lord Leader...
Dialogue
Trivia
- Hugo shares several motifs with vampires.
- His pointed ears, pale skin, sharp teeth and red eye are common design traits of vampires in numerous media;
- Several bats are seen alongside Hugo in the final comic panel of And the True Heroes Are Always Behind the Scenes (III);
- His feud with Lycaon is likely a nod to the commonly used trope of vampires and werewolves being sworn enemies;
- His Knock Knock profile picture is a bat version of himself.
- Hugo's hypoglcemia and distaste for sugary foods could potentially be inspired by depictions of vampires who see their condition as a curse and hate having to feast on blood to survive.
- In one of Lycaon's trust events, Lilac talks about the plot of a comic she's working on featuring a wolf Thiren and a vampire who were once friends. Afterwards, Lycaon is seemingly discomforted by it, likely due to the similarities between it and his past with Hugo.
Etymology
- Hugo's first name appears to be a reference to Victor Hugo, author of the novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.
- Hugo's last name, Vlad, is seemingly in reference to Vlad Dracula, more commonly known as 'Vlad the Impaler', who was a prince of Wallachia and a national hero of modern Romania. His reputation for cruelty were the inspiration for the titular vampire of Bram Stoker's gothic horror novel.
Hugo
- Hugo Vlad shares the same Chinese voice actor, Liang Dawei (梁达伟), with:
- Hugo Vlad shares the same Japanese voice actor, Fukuyama Jun (福山 潤), with Vyn Richter in Tears of Themis.
- Hugo Vlad shares the same Korean voice actor, Kim Hye-sung (김혜성), with:
- Alyosha in Genshin Impact
- Dan Heng, Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, and Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae in Honkai Star Rail
Young Hugo
- Hugo Vlad shares the same Chinese voice actor, Li Chunyin (李春胤), with:
- Tartaglia in Genshin Impact
- Dan Heng, Dan Heng • Imbibitor Lunae, and Dan Heng • Permansor Terrae in Honkai Star Rail
- Chen Tianwu in Honkai Impact 3rd
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Event Commission: Bangboo vs Ethereal (IV)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Phaethon's Story, Bury Your Tears With the Past (B), Episode 9: Applause for the Mockingbird
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Phaethon's Story, Bury Your Tears With the Past (A), Episode 5: Destined to Meet Again
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Phaethon's Story, Bury Your Tears With the Past (B), Episode 8: Those With Steadfast Ambition
- ↑ Hugo's Promoter commission
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Zenless Zone Zero (May 13, 2025). Hugo EP - "My Curse, My Fate (Destin et malédiction)" | Zenless Zone Zero. YouTube.
- ↑ Phaethon's Story, Bury Your Tears With the Past (A), Episode 9: Behind the Scenes
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Agent Story, And the True Heroes Are Always Behind the Scenes, Episode 3: And the True Heroes Are Always Behind the Scenes (III)
- ↑ Hugo Vlad's Agent Intel: Agent Intel 1
- ↑ Phaethon's Story, Bury Your Tears With the Past (A), Episode 8: Dark Side
- ↑ Event Commission: The Day of Brilliant Wishes: Finals
- ↑ Phaethon's Story, Bury Your Tears With the Past (B), Episode 7: Long-Lost Harmony
- ↑ Phaethon's Story, Bury Your Tears With the Past (A), Episode 11: Destiny at Your Fingertips
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