What we call magic is what humanity uses to kill people, and for the Gods, it is also 'Blessing'.
May 3, 2014.
A figure of a child, dressed in fur clothing covering their entire body, slowly progresses through a heavy snowstorm. After advancing a bit further, the child looks down. Below, a single-story house made of wood with lights on, seemingly with a fireplace or stove, is visible. The child descends and knocks on the door of the house. Before long, a man about 175-180 cm tall, wearing brown and black winter clothing, appears and looks at the child.
May 3, 2024, Ten years later.
A somewhat tall figure, though not excessively, is rapidly moving through a snowy and icy winter landscape. It is Ciel Voldrald.
Ciel: "I must catch up... I must, or the child is done for."
Just as Ciel Voldrald said, if he doesn't make it, the child will be killed by Zero, the middle child and second heir of the Ogawagi clan, a mercenary/assassin.At that moment, outside the Ogawagi clan's surroundings, just beyond the clan's walls :A young man, around 170 cm tall, with pale blue hair, dressed in white winter clothing, is throwing and kicking broken ice pieces around in frustration.-
"What am I lacking compared to him? The only difference is age…"
At that moment, something rapidly strikes the largest ice mound in the area. The impact creates a cloud of snow, and the mound is pushed backward over the icy water. Soon, Ciel Voldrald emerges from the snow cloud and approaches the shocked child, whose mood has shifted from frustration to shock.
Ciel: "Forget introductions, we'll do that later. We need to run now!"
-"W-who are you? And what was that?! What just happened?!"
Ciel: "I'll explain later, stop talking and move your legs, idiot!!"
The young man hesitates for a few seconds but eventually decides to listen to him, and as Ciel grabs his arm, they run as fast as they can together. They run quickly, but before they can get too far, several hand grenades are fired in front of them. They are forced to stop. Ciel signals for the young man to stay behind. When the snow cloud in front of them clears, a tall man in a white suit under a black coat, with snow-white hair, a grin, and black eyes, stands before them .A drop of sweat falls down Ciel's cheek as the man grins and looks at Ciel, speaking:"Tell me, Ciel Voldrald, could you move aside for me, between my target and me?"
Ciel: "I would, Zero, but when the target is someone this young, I can't do much."
The man Ciel referred to as Zero's grin disappears, replaced by a confused and blank expression.
Zero: "You do know the 'young person' you're talking about is only three years younger than you, right?"
The worried expression on Ciel's face changes to the same blank look.
Ciel: "Oh really? I thought he was five years younger... Anyway, that's not the important part!"
Zero's bright grin returns:"You're right. That's not important…"
Zero twirls two white pistols, as white as his hair, between his fingers.Ciel sighs deeply, then gestures with his hand. A purple energy wave fills the area. Zero's hair gets slightly messy, but he quickly fixes it with his hands, then speaks confidently: "What was that just now? A mana release? Or something related to dark magic? If you didn't know, let me tell you, you won't scare anyone with that."
Zero chuckles lightly and points his guns at Ciel. However, not long after, the sound of an avalanche rises behind Zero, and the icy, snowy ground they are standing on shakes. Zero turns around and glances at the avalanche, then scratches his head with his guns.
Zero: "I don't know much about dark magic. Jumping blindly into a fight with no advantage would be incredibly stupid… I'll try my luck until the avalanche gets here. Unfortunately, I'm not stubborn..."
Zero jumps high with great force and speed, then begins to rain bullets down toward the two young men from the air. Bullets that hit any surface start shaking the ground they strike. Ciel reacts quickly, dodging the bullets and pulling the young man along, helping him escape.
"-W-W-W-WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!?!"
Ciel: "Trust me!"
Ciel clasps his hands together. After he joins his hands, the avalanche begins to fall much faster. When the avalanche gets close enough, all the falling snow turns into a giant snowball, almost swallowing Zero. However, Zero reacts quickly, dodges, and empties two magazines, shrinking the snowball.
Zero: "I'm not getting paid enough for this… Anyway, then, we'll see each other again when someone pays enough. Ciel Voldrald, Ogawagi Kou."
Zero smiles and disappears into the snow cloud. When the snow cloud clears, no one is there.After seeing this, Ciel takes a deep breath and supports his knees with his hands. Meanwhile, the young man Zero referred to as Kou collapses to his knees.
Kou: "What the hell just happend?!?!"
Kou looks at Ciel with mixed feelings. His face is pale, as if he's seen a ghost, and he's sweating.
Kou: "First of all, who the hell are you? Who was that man? What did he want from me? What do you want from me? Spit it out!"
Ciel: "Ah… My name is Ciel Voldrald. That man... they call him Zero. He wanted to kill you because you're the heir of the Ogawagi clan. I wanted to save you, and also, I have some research regarding the Ogawagi clan, so it's two birds with one stone."
Kou: "WHAT?! W-W-Wait a second, was I just subjected to an assassination attempt?!"
Ciel: "Yes. Actually, the guy is pretty good at his job, a world-renowned and famous mercenary assassin."
Kou: "How can you stay so calm and cold-blooded about this?! We were almost killed just now!!"
Ciel: "Meh. Zero won't kill me. Really. He's tried to kill me many times, but he always backs out with some ridiculous excuse at the last second."
Kou: "And you're used to this?!?!"
Ciel sticks out his tongue and shrugs.
Kou: "Stop joking around, can't you take this seriously?!"
Kou takes a deep breath.
Kou: "You said you had research about the Ogawagi clan, what exactly is this research?"
Ciel: "Tch. Why does it concern you?"
Kou: "Of course it concerns me! It's my clan, and I'm the heir to that clan, did you forget? Plus, you said it yourself, two birds with one stone!!"
Ciel: "Right. Yes, yes… Actually, I came here to learn the Ogawagi clan's traditional Adjustment Art."
Kou: "I see... But how is learning our Adjustment Art going to help you? I think you know, but Adjustment Arts are ingrained in a person's mana since the day they are born. That's why it's called Adjustment Art."
Ciel: "I know, you idiot."
Kou: "Then why?"
Ciel: "You're free to laugh... But I want to erase magic."
Kou: "Oh, okay, I'll laugh now."
Ciel: "As someone who's seen war my whole life and grew up in one of the three great clans, I can easily say that magic is not humanity's 'gift.' I want to end these pointless wars and humanity's other savageries. Even if I can't end them, I want to eliminate magic's contribution to these atrocities."
Kou: "Wow, that's pretty good."
Ciel: "Don't joke around, you bastard. This is one of the biggest issues in the world. The 11 billion people lost in the Armageddon War haven't even fully been replaced. It's been 11 years since the war, and the world's population isn't even close to 19 billion yet… If it weren't for magic, the number of lives lost in the war would have been much lower."
Kou: "I know, I know… The Ogawagi clan lost around 60 thousand people in that war. What you're saying is all well and good, but how are you going to erase magic?"
Ciel grins and runs a finger across his lips.
Ciel: "I have my own ways."
Kou: "Come on! Tell me, please!"
Ciel chuckles.
"Maybe you'll learn. Now, take me to the clan."
Kou: "Fine, okay. But you're telling me after you're done."
Ciel: "Not promising..."
Story Lore: This world and universe are ten times the size of our world and universe, so having ridiculous numbers like 11 billion is both normal and natural. The Ogawagi and Voldrald clans are two of the three largest clans in the world, they share dominion.
The reason the Armageddon War is called the Armageddon War is because of the ridiculous number of lives lost and the damage it caused to the world. Even though it wasn't literally the Armageddon, at the time, this war was indistinguishable from the apocalypse. During this war, a total of 120 nuclear bombs and even more weapons were used. Not only that, but it also caused the number of artifacts in the world to decrease drastically. In short, it was as if the real apocalypse had occurred.