Kromer is the One who Grips of N Corp.'s Inquisition and main antagonist of Canto III. She has a notable history with Sinclair, as she was a student who became personally involved in his life.
Kromer's consistent physical traits consist of pale pink skin, silver eyes and silver hair with yellow highlights. Kromer's hair is prominently swept to the right, covering her right eye. Her hair is tied back in a short ponytail when in her school uniform, and cut shorter in present times.
Kromer's school uniform design consists of a long-sleeved white button up shirt overlaid by a green sweater vest with a large V-collar dipping down just below her chest. She wears shorts of a similar color that are rolled up below her knees. Kromer also wears ankle-high white socks and black shoes.
Kromer's N Corp. uniform consists of a bloodied white shirt with notable balloon sleeves shown on the right side. The left side of the shirt is covered by silver plate armor with red wax seal ribbons and a badge with N Corp's insignia. The shirt is adorned with four-pointed yellow stars decorations that go from her shoulder to her lower torso, and a rounded, protruding collar in the same color. Kromer wears a cravat around her neck in a gradient that goes from golden to white, atop which is an N Corp. Inquisition red wax seal and ribbon. Her uniform has two different belts of different sizes: a larger yellow, cincture-tied belt with a large silver buckle, and a black baldric upon which Kromer carries her the nail she utilizes as a sword. A thin yellow string decorates the black belt. Her pants are of similar color to her upper half, however it is mostly covered by silver plate armor that extends from her upper thigh to her feet, with red wax seals planted around. Finally, Kromer wears a dirtied white cape that reaches down to the floor.
Personality
Kromer describes herself as "a humanitarian who loves purity," referring to the purity of the human form without prosthetic modifications. As the head of N Corp.'s nailing judgement expedition in Calw, she displays extreme levels of sadism, obsession, and savagery towards prostheses, calling for intense mutilation of those who get these surgeries. She saw prosthetic users as affronts to humanity, describing them as impure things and heretics, and taking extreme pleasure in inflicting them pain, laughing with no remorse at her actions.
In Sinclair's memories, Kromer is shown to be a perceptive and charismatic person, noticing Sinclair's reluctance in undergoing prosthetic surgery, and easily manipulating him into trusting her, to the point of giving up his family's basement key to her. It is clear Kromer had always had an authoritative grip over Sinclair, exploiting him during their school years, and appearing possessive over him in current times, describing him as belonging in her hands.
Kromer developed an obsession with the flesh, as seen in Sinclair's memories, where she excitedly stared at a flesh abnormality. This obsession drove her to the point that she had various facilities dedicated to creating Corroded Inquisitors built within Sinclair's basement. As she resonated with the Golden Bough, she also turned into a fleshy abomination with joyous glee.
Observation Logs
Log Writer: Sinclair
I really don't feel like writing logs...
But I will, if I have to.
I haven't fought Kromer before or seen how N Corp's troop fight... But from what I could tell, she probably knows how to use a sword. She always carried one with her.
As for her looks... not too different from what I remember, except a little taller...
And, that disorienting laughter...
Unnh, can I stop here?
→ None of this helps. (Heathcliff)
That bastard, she's killing our Sinners!
She murdered everyone in the back lines...
Blowing that stupid whistle... She came to me, too...
I couldn't do anything... Hearing that sound makes me go all stiff...
I could only watch as Kromer slew the others...
I wanted to crush her skull so dearly... But I couldn't move a muscle.
What should I do... Can you tell me, manager?
I'm...
I'm, still scared of Kromer.
Looking at her face makes my face twitch, and her blade gives me the chills.
Her maniacal eyes remind me of the tragedy on Christmas, and her creepy grin still has my eyes quivering.
But...
But I'm okay now.
I can stand up to her whistles now.
The things she's done are too vile for me to stand by, and I'd be too ashamed to see the Sinners she's killed if I let that bitch go.
I've changed a lot since then.
I've died a lot of deaths, and claimed a lot of lives.
I can go mad all the same now.
So, I will for sure…
I'll skewer her chest with a stake, over and over again.
→ You've got a good mindset. I like that. (Heathcliff) → While the willingness to fight is admirable, this log is for observations rather than decrees of your determination. (Faust)
→ Sorry… I'll do it right next time. (Sinclair)
Log Writer: Sinclair
When I think about it, Kromer always had an obsession with flesh.
And that obsession cumulated into what we're seeing now... A gruesome creature.
At first... I agreed with her. The idea of replacing the flesh with something else was unpleasant to me.
But now I see. What's really unpleasant...is believing that your thought is the only correct one...and letting that thought consume your mind whole.
In the novel, Franz Kromer is a bully who extorts Emil Sinclair for money by threatening to report him to the police after Sinclair lies about stealing apples. Upon learning of the situation, Max Demian offers to help Sinclair and scares Kromer away.
Kromer was the first human enemy character to have both types of Resistance.
Kromer The Dreamer Of Human Wholeness bears a striking resemblance to the Peccatulum Luxuriae. Sinclair also notes that the Peccatulum reminds him of Kromer in his observation log.
Incidentally, the Peccatulum Luxuriae first appears in the same dungeon that Kromer acts as the final boss of.
A Staggered Kromer when facing The One Who Shall Grip Sinclair
If The One Who Shall Grip Sinclair is deployed in the battle against Kromer, she will become staggered on the first turn and say "Aah... Could it... You're... My Sinclair...?!"
This was the first unique interaction between an enemy and a specific Identity.
Before the May 10th 2023 update, Kromer instead said "Ah... You... No way.... My Sinclair?"
Although her exact role regarding N Corp. is unknown, she is most likely a high-ranking figurehead in the corporation.
The N Corp. Inquisition is a faction of N Corp. that are particularly violent in their views on prosthetics. Kromer leads this faction, but the faction does not stand for N Corp. as a whole.
It's implied that some of the Nagel und Hammer inquisitors are brainwashed through the use of N Corp.'s canned experience, although N Corp. is described as having always scrutinized the idea of humanity in regards to prosthesis use, despite this never having escalated to direct action before. Kromer's level of involvement is unclear.
