Irene of the Dragon Skeleton

"I'll be happy with anything...as long as it makes Sebas happy, too."

- Irene conversing with Sebastianus.

Irene of the Dragon Skeleton (龍骸のイレーネ Ryuugai no Irene) is a member of the Punishment Squad and a subordinate of Georgius of the Rainbow. She is one of the main characters in the Before Story arc.

Appearance
Irene has light purple thigh-length hair. Parts of her bangs fall between her eyes while her long sideburns are kept as two ponytails. She is dressed in a white Index's uniform, which is apparently wore over a light gray layer of armor, and a pair of high-heeled white leather boots; her hips are also armored. The upper part of her collar is a typical Western collar, but the part below it is of Eastern style. Her uniform is also three-tailed, with the emblem of Index on the middle tail. The sleeves are detached from the shirt and each is embedded with a red diamond-shaped crystal. She wears black tights on her right leg, but a crossed pair of belts on her left thigh.

Personality
Irene's nature is easygoing, although she can become easily irritated and even extremely aggressive if it comes to combat, especially if Sebastianus is attacked before her. She loves and deeply cares for Sebastianus since he was the first one to ever defeat her in combat, calling him "Sebas" for showing her affection. She wants to only keep him for herself, but will do or let him do anything if it satisfies him. She also respects Samson and (to a certain extent) Georgius, but she seems to despise Misao who tends heretic manners.

However, despite her nature, she has a radical attitude towards people with different beliefs or unwilling to comply to the teachings of the Catholic Church, that she describes as heretics. She contempts them, thinking they are bad people and sinners, and would do anything to punish them, (probably kill them, too) often in brutally manner, according to her talk with Sebastianus. The reason isn't really showed, but it could be due to her past as Ophian. She also seems agree with him, as people must have a reason for living.

Biography
Irene is a surviving Ophian, a branch of Christianity that was under the influence of Gnosticism and was established even before the Coptic and Alexandria church. For a long time, she has been protecting the indigenous Copts, Christians and other people of the Evangel from the Islams. She fought indiscriminately against all enemies that went against her. Seeing this, Index sent out Georgius' group to fight her. After losing to Sebastianus, she fell in love with him and joined Index to follow him.

Before the War
On April 1, Irene and Sebastianus took a stroll in the garden in Vatican, taking a break from their mission two days prior in Siberia. An almond petal fell on Sebastianus' shoulder. Irene was delightful at the view, calling it pretty; Sebastianus slightly nodded. Suddenly, Sebastianus asked about 'that man before', to which Irene replied that she could not recall, in a slightly irritated voice. Sebastianus said that he was referring to the man in the mission involving the Roman Catholic Church. This time Irene said that she remembered, but wondered why he mentioned it. Sebastianus said that the memory suddenly sprang up in his mind. Irene tried to recall it, but ended up saying that she could only remember both of them deliver punishment to a sinned man. Sebastianus wondered if generosity was what they had given that man, who had committed heresy; Irene denied the idea. Sebastianus asked why that man was killed, to which Irene replied that because he was too slow, and she hated it. Sebastianus then asked Irene if the man was enjoying it. Irene answered that he was not, so she finished the heretic off. Both of them then showed a sinister smile, agreeing that there was no other choice.

Commencing Operation
Irene followed Sebastianus to Ayame Hill. She is showed with everyone to their arrival to Ayame Hill, where they noticed a red Specialized Bounded Field covering an entire area. As there was no spell that they could use for reconnaissance without being detected, Misao used her shikigami, mentally linking with Georgius to help him scout the area and find the location of Lieselotte. Suspicious towards Misao's strange method of using magic, Irene proposed Georgius to dispose of her, claming she could be a potential threat. Samson slapped her for pushing it, telling her to knock it off; Irene persisted. Georgius said that he needed all the power he could borrow to defeat the witch. Irene reluctantly obeyed. Afterward, she paired up with Sebastianus to stop Lieselotte and defeat Larvaes while Georgius made preparations to seal Lieselotte.

Against the Witch
Lieselotte appeared by herself directly before them and wanted to fight with Sebastianus one-to-one. After Sebastianus detached his arm, Irene attacked Lieselotte to support him, although she only managed to scratch her face. As the battle continued with Lieselotte taking the offensive, Irene swung her sword at the witch. Sebastianus then kicked the blade, forcing it to go upward; with another swinging motion, Irene performed a pincer attack. Lieselotte easily caught the blade with her left hand while blocking Sebastianus' kick with her right, but was hit by the kick of his other leg. Her body was torn into two, but regenerated afterwards. Finding no other way to defeat the witch, Sebastianus wrapped Irene's blade around his body while holding Lieselotte tight. He told Irene to kill both him and Lieselotte. Irene was reluctant, but when he called her with a sincere and gentle voice of trust that she had never heard before, she bit her lips and, with another motion, ripped both Lieselotte and Sebastianus to pieces.

After dealing the fatal attack to the witch, Irene stood in silence, then cried as she realized the Sebastianus she loved did not exist anymore. While she was reminiscing Sebastianus, she noticed something moving. Irene straightened her sword for combat, but dropped it when she saw Sebastianus standing. Believing that Sebastianus was somehow alive due to his holy power, she embraced him and said that they would fight together forever, tears of joy rolling on her cheeks. Sebastianus grunted and suddenly, Irene had to cling onto Sebastianus to stand. Looking down her abdomen, she realized that her lower body was ripped off and her internal organs were falling on the ground. Unable to resist the pain, she fell on Sebastianus' corpse and died, Lieselotte saying goodbye to her afterwards, and stated that there were three lives who had rested in peace here.

After the battle, she came back to life as Invidia by Misao.

Equipment

 * Dragon Skeleton Sword (龍骸の剣 Ryuugai no Ken): The sword is constructed like a whip. Its blade is composed of smaller blades kept together by a very hard cable, giving the sword the ability to extend or retract at will. Due to this unique design, the sword is for medium-ranged combat rather than close-ranged. While the sword's structure allows it to slice through even the toughest horde of enemy by a simple movement, controlling the direction to which the blades will fly is not an easy task. This proves that either Irene has undergone strict training in the past or possesses talent to keep the sword completely under her control.

Relationships
Sebastianus of the Holy Bone: Irene fell in love with him after he defeated her, and they became a couple, albeit somewhat one-sided. He is also the reason why she joined Index. She is affectionate toward him, despite her hot-tempered nature, calling him "Sebas" and would do anything for him, if it makes him happy. It is hinted that Irene was pregnant with his child, according to Lieselotte.

Trivia

 * It is implied that Irene was pregnant during the Battle of Ayame hill, as Lieselotte stated that three lives had rested in peace here' after killing her, as she spent a long night with Sebastianus before their arrival in Japan.
 * Her name was the one of a very known Saint, Irene of Rome, who was St Castulus's wife, and who died in martyr, tortured and killed, as being a Christian. She is often showed healing St Sebastian after his tortures, although they didn't have a romantic relationship.
 * The scene where she died looks similar to Kanae's death, Kouta's sister in Elfen Lied, whom the body had been ripped off by Lucy in the same way than Lieselotte did to Irene.
 * In the anime, during the sequence where the members are turning into the Black Knights for imprisonning Lieselotte, Irene's silhouette seems similar to the game, excepted that she is short-haired.
 * Her Black Knight's counterpart has the ability to fly.
 * She is the third member to join Georgius' team.