History Manga / Helck

* [[spoiler: PlatonicLifePartners:]] [[spoiler: Helck and Vamirio.]]

* TrueCompanions: the most obvious pair is Vamirio and Helck.

* [[spoiler: PlatonicLifePartners: Helck and Vamirio.]]

* TheEmpire: subverted in the liteal Demon Empire. Invoked in that of [[spoiler: [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the humans]].]]

* TheEmpire: that of the demonkind.

* ComedicReliefCharacters: Piwi is TheLoad and TagAlongKid, but he's the source of half of the gags, has a quite detailed backstory, gets merchandise, and Vamirio adores him. He turns out to be ChekhovsGunman in the end and [[BreakoutCharacter gets his own spin-off]].

Creator/VizMedia announced in June 2022 that they'd licensed the manga for English release starting Spring 2023.

A spinoff began in August of 2020 under the name ''Völundio ~Surreal Sword Saga~''. An [[https://comikey.com/comics/volundio-divergent-sword-saga-manga/44/ official English translation]] is available on Comikey under the name ''Völundio ~Divergent Sword Saga~''.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Outside the titular Helck, official English spellings for character names are yet unknown and may lead to confusion.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:The Human King was the former part of EvilVersusOblivion and was working against Mikaros' plan to let the mutations consume the world. While he is trying to combat the Will of the World, he still prefers to sacrifice the current world to restore his one via mass BrainUploading.]]

* AmbiguouslyEvil: Helck's alleged loyalty to the Demon Empire and general morality is put into question for the first third of the series. [[spoiler:Yes, he is definitely a nice guy, but it's hard to blame him for wanting to kill humans since they all either turned into monsters or attempting a double-genocide.]]

* AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler:Human King, Mikaros and Rafaed have been manipulating the Human Realm for a millenia, though their motives may vary. Even the nobles who joined them don't realize that they're not included in the RestartTheWorld plan.]]

* ConditionalPowers: Second class abilities are incredible powers but they require special circumstances to use; like barriers powered by eating a bean 30 minutes prior or mutual hot coffee-fueled telepathy. First class abilities, like Vamiriro's fire, avert this completely.

* CookingDuel: Helck and Vamirio enter one in order to get money for the map they need. Becomes something of a parody to mangas that make such things SeriousBusiness.

* TheCorruption: The poison across the Demon Realm. It's safe in the cities and some strong demons are very resistant to it, but prolonged exposure can result in TransformationHorror. [[spoiler:Humans have created a weaponized version of it in form of the snow, and both are actually The Will of the World materialized.]]

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Helck was [[spoiler:saved and raised by one family when all other nobles considered him and his brother worse than garbage, only for said savior to raise Cless as HumanWeapon and taking away from Helck any happiness he had.]]
* DarkWorld: The Demon Empire is a desolate and rocky land filled with poisonous gas that creates monsters and is deadly if exposed to for too long. The only way to even live there is within magically protected cities. In contrast the human land and other places are just fine.

** [[invoked]] In [[VideoGame/DragonQuest DQ]] tradition, [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the Demon Empire]] is in a [[TheCorruption toxic]] [[DeathWorld wasteland]] that endlessly spawns [[DifficultySpike powerful monsters]]. Which [[MST3KMantra should not be]] the preferred residence for bad guys who are [[BossArenaIdiocy neither immune to poison nor getting eaten]]. Odds are they do not enjoy or even intentionally cause that part.

** From humans' perspective, the demons are TheManBehindTheMonsters, and extermination campaigns against them should solve their problems. Once they manage to kill the only Demon King they know of, things go FromBadToWorse: [[spoiler:The Demon King was fighting ''against'' the monsters, and with him gone the entire horde moved to Human Realm, and the Emperor is actually holding off TheCorruption as much as he can. Said Demon had friends and duties of his own, which not helped the mutual racism. And the Human King they were praising so much turns out to be the biggest monster of them all, who is now just one step away from destroying mankind himself.]]

* DeusExMachina: A few times in moments of NearVillainVictory, some of the previously established charcters, even when presumed to be far away or dead, just happen to have the skill to completely undermine the villain's plan. Vamirio is surprised just as much as everyone else.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: It takes a long time, but it's worth it in the end, even followed by WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue. [[spoiler:The Demon Empire won the war with no casualties, all of The Will's avatars got KilledOffForReal, Cless is crowned as a new king and humans declare peace, Azudora is curing TheCorruption, and Helck gets both Sharuami and Alicia.]]
* EldritchTransformation: [[spoiler:What happens to awakened humans if they are released from King's Word or he dies.]]

* GenreShift: The series starts as a very comedic TournamentArc with Helck beating any challenge Vamirio throws at him... for the first few chapters, then the invasion begins.

* SimpleSolutionWontWork: Vamirio wanted to just take him out herself, but Helck's MagicallyBindingContract makes him impervious to all harm that isn't a part of the tournament. And she can't disqualify him without a ''very clear'' reason either.

** When your [[MonstersEverywhere large list]] of [[RPGsEqualCombat enemies]] can be summed up as "[[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman every race except humans]] [[AntiHumanAlliance united as one]]," the entire planet must be [[EverythingTryingToKillYou bizarrely evil]]. That or humans are [[HumansAreBastards not the good guys]].

* HumansAreBastards: Most humans are jerks, and the nobles are worse. [[spoiler: When the Demon Empire and the Human World were close allies, it was the humans who betrayed demonkind. It happened several times until the demons cut ties in disgust.]]

** Helck's origin story is very likely modeled after the 7th chapter of ''VideoGame/LiveALive''.

** It plays out [[WholePlotReference similarly]] to ''VideoGame/LiveALive'''s own [[{{subversion}} subversive]] hero's story. Naturally, [[WhamEpisode loaded full of spoilers]] for both works.[[labelnote:*]]After the local [[MonsterLord Demon King]] is slain, both Helck and Oersted are [[FalseFriend betrayed]] and [[WitchHunt hunted by humanity]]. The last of their friends [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifice themselves]] to allow their escape. Ultimately, they launch a [[RoaringRampageOfRescue desperate rescue]] to [[DamselInDistress save a girl]] named Alicia [[InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn by themselves]], but it's too late and she is also turned against them. Left with a loathing of mankind, they choose to replace the fallen Demon King.[[/labelnote]]
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Vamirio wanted to do that, but Helck's MagicallyBindingContract make him impervious to all harm that isn't a part of the tournament. And she can't disqualify him without a ''very clear'' reason either.

An anime adaptation of ''Helck'' was announced in February 2022.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Demonic rulership has six categories: Populace, General, Demon King, Heavenly King, Guardian King, and Emperor. Anyone starting from a Demon King is a OneManArmy.

** In [[VideoGame/DragonQuest DQ]] tradition, [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon the Demon Empire]] is in a [[TheCorruption toxic]] [[DeathWorld wasteland]] that endlessly spawns [[DifficultySpike powerful monsters]]. Which [[MST3KMantra should not be]] the preferred residence for bad guys who are [[BossArenaIdiocy neither immune to poison nor getting eaten]]. Odds are they do not enjoy or even intentionally cause that part.

* IdiosyncraticCoverDesign:

*** The majority are Greek with many appropriately drawing from the Twelve Labors of Heracles. Like the [[FullBoarAction Boar of Erymanthos]] being split into two boar-themed races, the Ery and [[BarbarianTribe Thosman]] (Ellyu and Toosu-men).

*** The majority are Greek with many appropriately drawing from the Twelve Labors of Heracles. Like the [[FullBoarAction Boar of Erymanthos]] being split into two boar-themed races, the [[BalefulPolymorph Ery]] and [[BarbarianTribe Thosman]] (Ellyu and Toosu-men).

A sequel began in August of 2020 under the name ''Völundio ~Surreal Sword Saga~'', aka ''Helck 2''. An [[https://comikey.com/comics/volundio-divergent-sword-saga-manga/44/ official English translation]] is available on Comikey under the name ''Völundio ~Divergent Sword Saga~''.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Many of the special chapters are devoted to the lives of the inhabitants of the Demon Empire before Helck's arrival, starting with Vamirio and her experiences as a child with Azudora, then moving on to the other participants of the Demon Lord tournament (as well as its staff), before finally focusing on Piwi's narration of the silly hijinks he experiences during his travels with Helck and Anne.
* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: There is one under the King Castle, belonging to the ancient humans who tried to attain the new world. [[spoiler: It looks quite similar to real world actual cities like New York or so, and it's later revealed to be the previous world that was wiped out when the world changed into the current age. ]]

* ComedicReliefCharacters: Piwi is TheLoad and TagAlongKid, but he's the source of half of the gags, has a quite detailed backstory, merchandise and Vamirio adores him. He turns out to be ChekhovsGunman in the end and [[BreakoutCharacter gets his own spin-off]].

* TheGhost: The third of the Four Heavenly Kings only appears in a spin-off, and the fourth one doesn't at all.

* SaveBothWorlds: [[spoiler:Helck and Vamirio shift their goals from MercyKill the entire human race to finding a cure for them, even if they have no idea how.]]

* ButThouMust: [[CompellingVoice Invoked]]. There is a spell that makes the caster's command over their people absolute.

** Human [[TheChosenOne heroes]] are designed to endlessly [[LevelGrinding grind]] entire populations into dust while growing in power, potentially until [[GameBreaker nothing can oppose them]]. [[spoiler:Especially if they have [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist infinite continues]]]]. In a world run by [[IdleRich self-centered nobles]] who [[ButThouMust cannot be turned down]], they would be [[HumansAreCthulhu terrifying]].

A sequel began in August of 2020 under the name ''Völundio ~Surreal Sword Saga~'', aka ''Helck 2''.

An anime adaptation was announced in February 2022.

* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: There is one under the King Castle, belonging to the ancient humans who tried to attain the new world. [[spoiler: It looks quite similar to real world actual cities like New York or so, and its later revealed to be the previous world that was wiped out when the world changed into the current age. ]]

* BonusMaterial: Almost every chapter is followed by an comedic omake (resulting in MoodWhiplash quite often) that elaborates previous events from someone else's point of view or tells a completely irrelevant side-story.

* DeusExMachina: A few times in moments of NearVillainVictory, some of previously establishes charcters, even presumed to be far away or dead, just happened to have the skill to completely undermine the villain's plan. Vamirio is surprized just as everyone else.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: It takes a long time, but its worth it in the end, even followed by WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue. [[spoiler:The Demon Empire won the war with no casualties, all of The Will's avatars got KilledOffForReal, Cless is crowned as a new king and humans declare peace, Azudora is curing TheCorruption, and Helck gets both Sharuami and Alicia.]]

* TheGhost: The third of Four Heavenly Kings only appears in spin-off, and the fourth one doesn't at all.

* MagikarpPower: The whole human race is weak, but has the potential to awaken into heroes, and the Winged Soldiers eventually do after neverending course of CameBackStrong, but only a few have any compatibility with the powers.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler:Cless and Sharuami are kept to gather the Hyperspace Energy and turn humans into Artificial Heroes.]]
* PrecursorKillers: [[spoiler:The Ancients, that were not much different than futuristic humans, were wiped out by The Will of the World and ThePlague thousands of years ago when they became too greedy with the uses of its energy. Now this Will wants to finish the job.]]
* PuppetKing: [[spoiler:[[DoubleSubversion Double Subverted]]. The Human King is revealed to be [[ManInFrontOfTheMan Mikaros]]' creation and humans were following a puppet the entire time. But then it turns out the King did in fact had a consiousness of his own and pulls a DragonAscendant on Mikaros. Mikaros lived and gets to be the FinalBoss.]]

* MercyKillArrangement: Helck gives a Vamirio the Hero-killing blade, twice, in case his SuperpoweredEvilSide gets better of him.

* MotiveDecay: Humans' reasoning for attacking demons becomes less and less coherent over time to the point when [[spoiler:Zellzion uses a spell to control the monsters, the very reason why the invasion started in the first place, and he brushes off the idea that somebody on human side could have used it before. It becomes clear that most humans are BrainwashedAndCrazy.]]

* PowerLevels:
** Combat ratings are set like a videogame: Vamirio, one of the strongest demons, is level 78, while Helck is probably level 99. Though how these play out in actual battle isn't cut and dried; Vamirio is sure she can probably defeat Helck but she is equally confident she would not survive.

* SwissCheeseSecurity: Asuta has no problems sneaking right into human castle and telepathically retell crucial conversations for a very long time, and even "increased security" fails to realize their plans are being leaked, though they eventually figure it out. Sharuami doesn't even question how "a merchant" could bypass all the guards.

* TheFederation: [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace The Demon Empire]], made up of 15 nations and their various races working to fight larger threats. They aren't TheEmpire or the [[PropagandaMachine source of humanity's woes]] in this setup.

* MagikarpPower: The whole human race has the potential to awaken into heroes, but few have any compatibility with the powers.

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Demonic rulership has six categories: Populace, General, Demon King, Heavenly King, Guardian King, and Emperor.
* ButThouMust: [[CompellingVoice Invoked]]. There is a curse that makes the caster, usually a king's, command over their people absolute.

* TheChosenOne: Heroes in the human world are a rarity but they alone are worth more than a few armies.

* TheDreaded: One village had a monster that they feared because it could crush boulders with its jaws and had hard skin that could deflect blades. Vamirio kills it in passing. [[MoodWhiplash They immediately throw a party.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: It takes a long time, but its worth it in the end.

* GoodWingsEvilWings: [[spoiler: Nearly all of humanity has been turned into angelic looking awakened heroes. Though described as a power sleeping within them all, why they all have angel wings isn't really known.]]

* HappyFunBall: Little Vamirio is seen in the omakes swinging around a twig she calls the [[NamedWeapons Koedarion (Twigalion)]]. [[spoiler:Being a branch of the WorldTree, it is a legitimate AmplifierArtifact that let her blow up Azudora as a child and makes her deadlier as an adult.]]

* HopeSpot: After being separated from his friends [[spoiler: when the King and their awakened servants attack them all and Helck passes out from his injuries,]] Helck makes his way back home to find [[spoiler: Alicia on the chopping block. He saves her just in time. [[SnowMeansDeath Then it begins to snow,]] [[FromBadToWorse and]] [[BodyHorror everything]] [[PainfulTransformation goes]] [[PowerAtAPrice to]] [[TheBadGuyWins hell.]]]]

* HumansAreBastards: Most humans are jerks, and the nobles are worse. [[spoiler: When the demon empire and the human world were close allies, it was the humans who betrayed demonkind. It happened several times until the demons cut ties in disgust.]]
** [[spoiler: It's implied in later chapters that a lot of recent aggression from humans has come from the king's commands changing their personalities, but to what extent is unknown.]]

* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Edil does this with Hyura. When he abandons his fight (that he is clearly winning) with two other demons after learning Hyura is at the same battlefield, one of the demons claims that Edil has [[FoeRomanceSubtext fallen deeply]] for Hyura. Edil then interrupts Mikaros who was about to finish off Hyura to claim that he will take care of it, so Mikaros can conclude their goal.

* PowerAtAPrice: Humanity has gained the power to seriously become a threat to the demon empire [[spoiler: but only after the entire nation was awakened as heroes and turned into immortal slaves.]]
** Individuals like Mikaros that connect to the Will of the World become immensely powerful, but they are enthralled by it and can only fixate on furthering its agenda. [[spoiler:Helck is the sole exception.]]

* RhetoricalQuestionBlunder: When Kenros offers to stop fighting and be friends with humans, the soldier he is fighting yells, "Could you sleep soundly next to a monster?" Kenros then points out the winged soldiers are immortal.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: A recurring theme. People who grow to adulthood with or earn their powers can use them safely. Those who do not are controlled by them.

''Helck'' is a weekly manga by author Nanao Nanaki which began in 2014 and finished in 2018. It was followed by ''Piwi'', a weekly miniseries by Nanaki that ran in 2018. Nanaki has said she plans a full ''Helck'' sequel, but as of yet it's currently unscheduled, being pushed back as she tried to get the story sorted out.

A sequel was released in August of 2020 under the name ''Völundio ~Surreal Sword Saga~'', aka ''Helck 2''.

Premiering in 2014, ''Helck'' is a weekly manga by author Nanao Nanaki.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Many of the special chapters are devoted to the lives of the inhabitants of the Demon Empire before Helck's arrival, starting with Vamirio and her experiences as a child with Azudora, then moving on to the other participants of the Demon Lord tournament (as well as its staff), before finally focusing on Piuy's narration of the silly hijinks he experiences during his travels with Helck and Anne.

Premiering in 2014, '''Helck''' is a weekly manga by author Nanao Nanaki.