Beta

Beta (ベータ) (Βήτα) is the third member of Shadow Garden, supporting her master Shadow against the Order of Diabolos. Outside of her Shadow Garden activities, she adopts the identity of Natsume, an up-and-coming author of numerous "original" pieces of literature.

Appearance
Beta is a beautiful young voluptuous Elf with blue pupils and shoulder-length silver hair with a left braid behind her ear, as well as a mole underneath the corner of her eye on the same side.

Her Shadow Garden outfit consists of a low-cut dark slime suit that exposes her cleavage with golden decorations around her chest, shoulder, arms and waist.

While posing as Natsume, her civilian attire comprises a white ruffle blouse that also reveals her cleavage, a dark mini-skirt skirt, black stockings, and high heels. Additionally, she also adorns a pair of glasses and necklaces, as well as a scarf around her waist.

Personality
Beta is a dedicated and loyal subordinate to Shadow Garden. She is both a great analyst, using information presented to her or she has gained from her missions, and a warrior, leading her team members to victory. While conversing with others, she remains calm and responds to them in a sophisticated manner. As Miss Natsume, she presents herself as a calm, humble young woman but won't hesitate to use her beauty to entrap her targets and get what she wants.

Beyond her loyalty to Shadow Garden is her loyalty to her master, Cid Kagenou. Beta is in love with him. She dreams of one day embracing into his arms with the extremest of passions. Because of this, she gets extremely jealous of any girl who isn't from Shadow Garden and attempts to get close to him, particularly Princess Alexia Midgar. While off or during her duty, she has a hobby of writing a book entitled "The Chronicles of Master Shadow".

Her goal is to one day, stand next to Shadow with the power to support him in everything he does.

Tragic Childhood
During her childhood, the girl, later known as Shadow Garden's Beta, was living with her family in the country of elves where she would also become acquainted with another future member, Alpha. However, after contracting Demon Possession, she would be persecuted by her family and society before being exiled from her home.

Fortunately, Beta was eventually rescued by Alpha and her friend's master, Cid Kagenou, the leader of Shadow Garden, where she would also be cleansed of her Demon Possession. Although the young elf was initially frightened by Shadow, she would slowly come to accept and care for him while training under his tutelage. Furthermore, along with Alpha and Gamma, Beta would participate in the planning of expanding the organization to further their resistance against the Order of Diabolos.

Assault on the Order
After her master's elder sister, Claire Kagenou, was abducted by the Order of Diabolos, Beta later meets with him to report the results of Shadow Garden's investigations. Supported by Cid's insight, they are able to determine the location of their enemy and his sister's location.

Afterwards, Beta, along with the other members of Shadow Garden, would participate in the assault on the Order's hideout, eliminating many of their members before confronting the culprit behind the kidnapping, Count Olba. Despite the cultist's escape, the girls allow him to proceed, realizing that their master had foreseen the count's actions and left the issue to Shadow to handle.

Following the successful rescue, the Shadow Seven would later report the fruits of their research into the Order of Diabolos to Cid. Determining that leaving was necessary in order to expand the organization, the girls would tearfully depart after receiving permission from their master. Beta, in particular, would become a popular author, under the pen name Natsume, for writing numerous novels in different genres based on the stories told by Shadow.

The Kidnapping of the Princess
Several years later, Beta would reunite with Cid as he was being framed by the Order for the abduction of Princess Alexia Midgar, discovering him among a collection of rare antiques and luxury items to her admiration. Supporting Shadow Garden's raid on several of the Order's secret locations, she was able to witness her master eliminate several members during another attempt to entrap him while recording the event in her secret chronicles. Following the incident, the two would separate and she would continue to support the operation.

Holy Ground Infiltration
Under the disguise of her pen name, Natsume, Beta accepts an invitation to participate in the Trail of the Goddess event as a V.I.P. in order to perform reconnaissance for Shadow Garden. While performing her duties, she also happens to encounter her master, Cid, secretly providing details of their plans to him.

Later, she is joined by Princess Alexia and Rose Oriana during the opening ceremony, however, due to her dislike of the princess because of the former's previous relationship with Cid, the two become irritated with one another, while the latter remains unaware of the atmosphere. Afterward, during the Trials, Beta is shocked by the unexpected participation of Shadow and the appearance of the Witch of Calamity, Aurora. However, she nonetheless quickly adapts to the situation and orders the continuation of the plan while witnessing the battle between her master and the witch. Following the conclusion with victory for Shadow, Natsume is captured by Shadow Garden and forced to enter the Holy Ground with them along with acting Archbishop Nelson, before Alexia and Rose also compulsively joins them as well.

Inside, the history of the Hero Olivie and the Order of Diabolos is revealed, as well as Nelson's connection with the Cult as the Eleventh Seat of the Knight of Rounds. Upon this revelation, the Archbishop unveils his true nature and begins his assault on the group, but Alpha and Delta are able to withstand his onslaught. Eventually, the party decides to temporarily retreat and return to the normal world.

In the aftermath, Beta is reported to be guiding the two princesses while further developing her relationship with them.

God of War Tournament
During the God of War Festival, Natsume and Alexia learn of Rose's assassination attempt on her fiance and becoming a fugitive from the law. Despite the political nature of the crime, Alexia still intends to search for her friend, despite the author's insistence on avoiding causing an international issue. Nevertheless, the princess refuses to abandon Rose, forcing Beta to relent and provide support.

From their investigation, the two then follow a lead on Rose's location, believing their friend is hiding in the capital's tunnel system. Despite Beta's reluctance, the elf nevertheless decides to follow Alexia in order to protect the princess as part of her job.

After exploring for a while, the duo has yet to find success until a tremendous surge of magic suddenly is detected which leads them to discover Rose among a group of fresh dead bodies. Realizing the situation, Beta silently observes as Alexia attempts to learn the truth behind her friend's motivation, however, the former student council president refuses to involve them in her plight to the former's anger. As a result, the two princesses confront one another in a duel which ultimately concludes with Rose's victory as Alexia is left unconscious. Subsequently, Natsume then allows the princess of Oriana to depart after giving her farewells before tending to the immobile princess of Midgar, pondering the decision of her master, Shadow.

Red Moon Incident
While reporting the latest developments regarding Shadow Garden, Beta is suddenly surprised to learn from her master that a Red Moon will soon occur. Despite her initial concerns due to the event's dark history, she nevertheless becomes confident in Shadow's strength and accepts an invitation to participate as well. On the eve of the Red Moon, Beta infiltrates the Red Tower in Outlaw City along with a squad consisting of 664, 665, and 666 in order to research the blood of the vampire's progenitor. However, they are unexpectedly interrupted by the arrival of Claire and the Vampire Hunter Milia who are attempting to rescue her brother from being sacrificed to revive the Vampire Queen. Despite being suspicious of one another's motivations, both parties agree to leave each other alone and resume their original goals. Unfortunately, Claire is gravely injured by the awakened Queen of Blood, Elizabeth, forcing Beta's party to intervene but the progenitor's strength overwhelms them even with two of Outlaw City's Monarchs present, Yukime and Tyrant. Luckily, they are still able to stall for time for Shadow to arrive and duel against the vampire himself. Although Beta believes strongly in her master, she becomes worried when he initially struggles during the battle prior to assuming that their presence has become a hindrance to him. But nonetheless, her fears are assuaged when he finally unleashes his magic and performs his ultimate spell.

Upon regaining conscience, Beta discovers that her leader has already departed after destroying the Red Tower and healing every person's injuries. Notably, while retrieving the progenitor's blood sample, the elf unexpectedly learns that she has become capable of controlling the red liquid itself. With the mission a success, the member lastly witnesses the reunion between Milia and Elizabeth, wishing them success in achieving their dream before retreating into the night along with her team.

Great Trade Alliance Conflict
As the conflict with the Great Trade Alliance begins to escalate, Beta participates in an operation to dispose of several of the Alliance's assassins while also acquiring information in the process. Unfortunately, the hostility between them continues to result in innocent deaths.

Later, Beta would provide her report to Shadow regarding the recent circulation of counterfeit bills, as well as the Delta's disappearance after a confrontation with the enigmatic John Smith. Although her master is unable to support them, she does receive a memo from him which the elf proceeds to send to Eta for decryption.

Luckily, Eta is able to decipher their master's message, which Beta promptly reveals to Alpha and Gamma that Shadow had not betrayed them. In the message, he explains his intentions while also securing the funds to reimburse the counterfeit banknotes while increasing their influence in the process of their relief and joy. When Delta also soon returns, the group then proceeds to the destination to retrieve the coins their master had hidden for them.

Powers & Abilities
Beta appears to be the "user of all, master of none" of the Seven Shades. She has shown to be a capable leader, though not at Alpha's level, a strong fighter, though not as strong as Delta, a good infiltrator, though not at good as Epsilon and Zeta, and possesses a great intellect, though not as great as Gamma and Eta.

She can effectively give orders to her squad and reprimands them should they disobey her. She also easily deceives others with her false identity as the meek and shy "Miss Natsume". By the time anyone realizes her true identity, she will efficiently and quickly kill them.

Cid Kagenō / Shadow
When Beta was initially having trouble being a member of Shadow Garden, as killing repulsed her, the Shadow soothed her spirit by telling her classical fairytales from his world. These stories ended up being so uplifting to her that she became capable of enduring the fighting as long as it was for the sake of Shadow Garden, and by extension him. Wanting to spread her master's greatness, Beta would later publish the stories he told her under the penname 'Natsume', unknowingly committing plagiarism.

Beta also developed romantic feelings for the Shadow that are borderline stalkerish. She always carries around a notebook in which she writes about his exploits and dreams of him rescuing her like a fairytale princess. She is also uncharacteristically antagonistic toward any perceived love rivals. The Shadow, on the other hand, remains ignorantly blind to Beta's obvious obsession with him.

However, when they were transported to Earth, Beta and the Shadow got into a fight in an online chat, though they were ignorant of each other's true identities. While initially just teasing each other about their outlandish usernames, things escalated when the Shadow insulted the "Black Knight" (his alias on Earth), causing Beta to send him death threats until she got banned. Afterward, Beta asked around for the owner of his username, intending the kill him as soon as she found him; fortunately, she never did.

Alpha
A fellow member and leader of the Seven Shades; Alpha is the person who recruited Beta into Shadow Garden. As a result, Beta's loyalty to her is second only to the Shadow. Beta has shown to often act as something of a secretary to Alpha.

Delta
A fellow member of the Seven Shades; Beta professes that Delta is like a little sister to her.

Epsilon
A fellow member of the Seven Shades; Epsilon views Beta as her rival for the Shadow's affection, due to jealousy of Beta's naturally busty figure. Beta, on the other hand, does not even seem to notice Epsilon's obvious resentment. Despite their (one-sided) rivalry, however, the two can work together during missions just fine.

Eta
A fellow member of the Seven Shades; Beta acknowledges Eta's intelligence, turning to her to "decipher" the Shadow's message written in Japanese. Unfortunately, she does not seem to trust her morals, taking custody of Akane out of fear of what the scientist would do to the Earthling if she got her hands on her.

Rose Oriana
Beta first met Rose under her 'Natsume' guise during the Holy Ground Infiltration. Rose is also a big fan of Natsume's stories. Following the incident, they team up with Alexia to uncover the truth behind Shadow Garden and the Cult of Diablos, with Beta hiding that she is a Shadow Garden member. Later, during the God of War Festival, when Rose resolved to euthanize her brainwashed father, Beta respected her choice. Afterward, Rose joined Shadow Garden, thus making Beta her superior.

Alexia Midgar
Beta despises Alexia for having previously forced Cid into a relationship with her, viewing the princess as her love rival. As a result, upon their first meeting, Beta was uncharacteristically condescending toward her. While they later agreed to an alliance with Rose to uncover the truth behind Shadow Garden and the Cult of Diablos, with Beta hiding that she is a Shadow Garden member, they still have an obvious dislike toward each other. Also, whilst working together, Beta would constantly annoy Alexia.

Akane Nishino
Beta was the person who brought Akane with her to the other world from Earth, doing so after having to abandon most of her Earth tech due to them not fitting through the portal. However, while she intended to just pawn her off to someone else, Alpha placed the Earthling under Beta's custody, claiming she needed to take responsibility for taking her.

Trivia

 * Beta is secretly writing a book titled The Chronicles of Master Shadow, recording his actions and analects with the following notable alterations:
 * The princess that Shadow rescues is described as an elf with silver hair and a mole under blue eyes.