A manga created by Etorouji Shiono, running since 2005, though it was put on Series Hiatus until recently, with new chapters now released monthly.In the Empire of Szaalenden, there is a certain tale told to children and adults alike. In the year 3968 the Empire was at war with a powerful dark enemy called Wischtech. With the Wischtech forces close to overunning the Empire's defenses and casualties rising every day, the Emperor sent fourteen champions to seal the route used by Wischtech's invading armies. Not all would complete the journey; three died along the way, and were forever known as the 'Precious Departed'. Four betrayed the rest and were killed, their names blackened with the title of 'Lances of Betrayal'. The remaining seven pushed on and completed their mission, bringing peace to the Empire. They became known as the 'Seven Heroes' and were lauded far and wide as saviours of the land.However, the true story is actually very different. The 'Seven Heroes' in the story were cowards who refused to continue after reaching the dreaded Forest of Death. The four 'Lances of Betrayal' were those who bravely pushed on to complete their mission. Upon making their way home, the four were ambushed and slaughtered by the cravenly deserters to take from them the honour and glory of saving the Empire from Wichtech. Unbeknownst to the treacherous group, however, one of the 'Lances' survived by consuming the body of a fairy. His name was Ascheritt.Twenty years have passed since the war, but there is trouble in the Imperial Frontiers. A mysterious boy named Koinzell appears on the outskirts of the Empire, cutting a bloody swath through the chaos. His one goal; to kill the Seven Heroes no matter the cost. At the same time, there comes word of a prophecy, proclaiming that a hero will come from the frontier to stop a mysterious, deadly catastrophe.Provides examples of:
Anti-Hero: Koinzel. He still had his high standards about soldiers and knights, though.
On the Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes, he is a Type III or borderline Type IV at worst. He would kill any of the Seven Heroes and their supporters in a heartbeat, despite acknowledging that their deaths would only invite chaos. Still the number of generally heroic deeds he carries out outweighs his more "villainous" traits - he is not above helping random commoners out and even intends to become The Atoner for all his actions once he's through with his vengeance.
Blood from the Mouth: Nearly any time someone gets nailed in the stomach/chest this occurs, even to Koinzell himself. Though he never dies, of course. It's put to good use here, though it's not exactly...what kills the very unlucky guy.
Chaste Hero: Heavily averted, Koinzell is a straight up P.I.M.P.
Played with even. Koinzell refuses to sell his body to Altea for transit, but then she mentions that the Seven Heroes will be at the location. He becomes much more willing then.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Koinzel, even though he states that he doesn't care about casualties as long as he can get his hands on Seven Heroes, can't just leave anyone innocent suffering.
Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The Black Wind. He didn't much have much problem doing it with his human body, but it takes a much greater toll on his half-fairy body.
Dirty Coward: Barestar. The seven "heroes" in the backstory were all this when they chose first to desert, then to ambush the four actual heroes and use them as scapegoats.
Drill Sergeant Nasty: Balgay, officer of Barestar's army, who thinks it's a good idea raising the morale of his men whom are escaping from a One-Man Army by punching them in the face.
Dude Looks Like a Lady: Koinzel could pass for a girl with his scar covered and wearing girl clothes. Used effectively to disguise himself in cities. He didn't like this at first, though.
Enemy Mine: With Lebelont starting a new war, Elseria's knights, Rozen and the Order of the Seven Lances, Dragon Chief Ischüdien and Koinzel all want to stop Lebelont before things get worse. They haven't really joined forces yet, though.
The Empire: A rare good version. But it's far from being The Kingdom. Wischtech could be a standard evil one (maybe).
Even Evil Has Standards: Glenn believes Barestar to have crossed the line by invading Jullas-Abllas and even refuses to punish the people of Jullas-Abllas' rebellion since it was Barestar who started the mess in the first place and had been held accountable for what he did.
Later Dragon Chief Ischüdien, who is against Lebelont's war-mongering ways after Glenn's death when Lebelont should be serving the Empire, not conquering it.
Expy - The Szaalenden empire is obviously based on The Empire from Warhammer especially how their armies mix men with swords, dragons and flying aircraft and how 8 Elector nobles elect the new Emperor.
Hero with Bad Publicity: Koizell; played with somewhat, as while he is an Anti-Hero not afraid of getting his hands dirty, on the other hand more and more people realize the true nobility of his heroic deeds and how he's mostly in the right about things.
Heroic Albino: Played with Koinzel, of course, since he's victim of the seven heroes' swords and propaganda, and given his Anti-Hero status, one might think he's an Evil Albino.
Also, fairy blood can be passed even from half fairy to another person, thus making the receiver's hair white in the process. Ato is one of those receivers.
Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The latest volume is #10, yet there are eleven volumes published. Why? Because the first volume has the number zero. Surprisingly, there's no chapter zero.
Ironic Echo: Koinzell claims that Schtemwolech cut apart his right arm during the Seven's betrayal of the Four. Guess which part of Schtemwolech's body Koinzell destroys first...
Intimate Healing: Koinzel's method of healing Ato is licking all of her wounds.
To be more precise, covering her wound with his blood, which he gets by cutting his tongue.
It Got Worse: With Glenn dead, the power hungry Lebelont takes action by taking over Glenn's former lands and killing dissidents who gets in his way to become the next Emperor. What's worse? He plans to rekindle the war with Wischtech to achieve more fame than Glenn. Even a veteran of the war Calls him out of it.
Luke, I Am Your Father: More for the readers than the characters, as most of them know already long before The Reveal; Glenn is the Emperor's son, and Ikfes is the son of Koizell's old friend and fellow "Lance of Betrayal" Kfer.
Mercy Kill: Koinzel does this a lot, much to his dismay.
One-Winged Angel: Many of the villains had a contract with demons (really Wischtech techno-sorcery), essentially giving them the power to change their body in a gruesome fashion. Even Koinzel can unleash this, although he can only activate his power fully under the moonlight, or by getting extremelypissed off.
Only Known by Their Nickname: We never know Peppi's real name; everyone just calls her Peppi, much to her annoyance. She slowly accepts it, though.
Our Giants Are Bigger: Wischtech Dekunszuants, towering monstrosities with dozens of eyes, clad in enormous plate mail and wielding gigantic weaponry. Simply seeing one appear breaks the morale of an entire imperial army.
Seven Deadly Sins: The seven heroes all seem to represent one. Schtemwölech is Lust (thirst for power and his use of women as youth serum and combat thralls), Barestar is Greed (merchant background and constant grasping for more and bigger weapons), Glenn is Envy (his actions were motivated by his jealousy towards Ascheritt), Lebellont is Pride (everything he does is motivated by his arrogance and megalomaniacal superiority complex), Nirgenfeld is Sloth (he seems too afraid to do anything except sheepishly following more proactive and charismatic characters' lead), Güllengurv is Gluttony (he's a lot like Nirgenfeld, plus a Fat Bastard), Ischüdien is Wrath (although we haven't seen his modern self being anything but calm and composed so far, he's also considered Dragon Chief, creatures often associated with Wrath).
Villain with Good Publicity: The Seven Heroes. Also, in early beginning, some border lords using the name of "Four Lances of Betrayals" to gain support for themselves.
Wide-Eyed Idealist: The heroes at the beginning, also the knights (with their leader, Elsarea Rahnclave) who protect Jullas-Ablas from Barestar, who eventually get their ideal destroyed unmercifully in their faces. The knights got better, though.
Worthy Opponent: All Ikfes wants is to fight Koinzell at his strongest.
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