Bruford

Bruford is a zombie built like an athletic man, his long dark hair hanging loose and unkempt around a face scarred across the bridge of the nose. He wears full metal armor: a chest-plate topped by an ornate collar plate that ends in a decorated disk, shoulder and ankle guards worn with sandals, and a jeweled diadem. That mane is more than decoration; through a technique called Danse Macabre Hair he wields the strands like a third arm, lashing, ensnaring, and even swinging his sword with them.

In life Bruford was an honorable knight sworn to Mary Stuart, his devotion running deeper than love. He stood alone against Elizabeth's forces when Mary turned against the queen and was ready to die for his lady. That faith curdled into hatred for all of humanity the moment his executioner revealed Mary's severed head, even though he had accepted death to spare her.

Raised as a zombie, that hatred carried over and made him an easy servant to Dio, yet his warrior's pride survived alongside it, so he insists on facing Jonathan Joestar in single combat. When Jonathan's Ripple finally frees his soul, the bitterness drains away; he feels human once more and is grateful to have met so noble an opponent.

Born in the sixteenth century into the Tudor world, Bruford lost his relatives to war and was raised solely to serve as Mary Stuart's knight, finding peace in her company. Alongside his fellow retainer Tarkus, he was one of only five in history to pass the grueling Challenge of the 77 Rings, a feat he managed despite his slighter frame by relying on his hair. His sword, which he named Luck, curved visibly through the air when swung.

When Mary was jailed by Queen Elizabeth, Bruford and Tarkus battled the royal army until they surrendered in exchange for a promise of her release. On the day of their execution they learned she had already been killed, and Bruford died cursing Elizabeth's line, legend claiming his hair strangled the headsman before the blade fell. Centuries later, after settling in Windknight's Lot, Dio raised Bruford and Tarkus as zombie enforcers to destroy Jonathan and his companions.

Honoring his old code, Bruford asks Dio's leave to duel Jonathan one on one. His hair gives the young Joestar trouble, and the fight moves underwater until Jonathan finds pockets of air beneath the rocks and lands a Ripple Overdrive that forces them back ashore. Once Jonathan disarms and strikes him directly, the Ripple unravels Bruford's body and restores his humanity. At peace and content to rejoin Mary, he learns Jonathan's name, renames the blade Luck and Pluck, and hands it over before crumbling to ash.