Riesbyfe Stridberg

Riesbyfe Stridberg is a character from the Melty Blood franchise. While she was appearing briefly during Sion TATARI's Last Arc animation since Re-Act, it was only in Actress Again that she became a playable character. She also appears in flashbacks in the Melty Blood manga.

Background
Riesbyfe is the leader of the knight's heresy persecution group and an official Shield Knight vampire hunter from the Church.

Three years before Melty Blood, the Church learned that the next appearance of TATARI took place in a small mountain village in Italy. The Church sought the aid of Atlas due to their connection to TATARI rather than the Prague alchemists, and Sion Eltnam Atlasia responded to their request. Riesbyfe Stridberg, along with Sion, intervened when TATARI appeared, but as they only had normal Conceptual Weapons, they were unable to affect the phenomenon no matter how many times they defeated its materializations. Three days later, TATARI annihilated the village and the dispatched Knights of the Church, and destroyed those who permeated it. Riesbyfe sacrificed herself to save Sion from one of the materializations of the Night of Wallachia.

But Riesbyfe still lived within TATARI, being protected from being completely absorbed by TATARI by her Holy Shield, Gamaliel. Michael Roa Valdamjong, or rather an materialization of TATARI based on him, notes in Riesbyfe's Story Mode in Melty Blood Actress Again she is "alive", making her a TATARI materialization different from the others like himself.

Development
Up until TYPE-MOON created Sion, Riesbyfe was supposedly the main heroine of Melty Blood and would've appeared as Ciel's rival.

Melty Blood
She is also a friend of Sion Eltnam Atlasia and died rescuing her from Wallachia during her last manifestation prior to Melty Blood.

In the Satsuki Yumizuka and Sion routes of Actress Again, she continues to live after the destruction of the Dust of Osiris and joins the Back Alley Alliance.

Kara no Kyoukai
Riesbyfe is briefly mentioned in Kara no Kyoukai as the principal of Reien Girls' Academy. Referred to as "Mother Riesbyfe", her age is unknown, and she is mentioned to have a large string instrument case in her office. She is a pious Christian, who, when energized, engages in overzealous philanthropic activities due to her excessive faith. She is also an acquaintance of Touko Aozaki, and hired Garan no Dou to investigate the suicide of Kaori Tachibana. Though she was originally not an important enough character to even receive an entry in a glossary, her later appearance in Melty Blood made her relevant enough.

True Apocrypha
She uses a Conceptual Weapon True Apocrypha (正式外典) AKA Spear Key and Gun Shield, a pile bunker shaped like a string instrument. True Apocrypha appears to briefly materialize several glyphs as well as the illusion of a completely deserted ruin bathed in the horizon upon the usage of its power, but details are unknown. It is called the holy shield "Gamaliel" by Zepia and is noted to be the reason behind Riesbyfe not obeying Dust of Osiris in her storyline path.