Two thousand years ago, a world-altering cataclysm occurred. An abnormal phenomenon, the Pestis, appeared, which is an absolute force humanity can't oppose, and alternatively the reason behind the death of man and land over time.
A male survivor then received a message from God, along with a strange scar appearing on his body, and thus was granted the power to rebuild a nation.Following that, every person born after the Pestis disaster received a star-shaped scar on their body called Stigmata, usually appearing before reaching adulthood. The more stars one's scar features, the higher this person's sacred power should be.
Back in the present, the Capital is the only place in the continent safe from the Pestis, though closed off villages seem to strive to continue living despite it. The protagonist, Belial, is from one of those villages, and heads to the north temple of Saint Sheol in order to start his life as an adult.
The temple is composed of 4 departments, each managed by a different Bishop :
- the Magic Department, composed of exorcists and mages. Their role is to train their sacred powers in order to fight back against the Pestis. Thanks to their influence, powerful mages also often end up being associated to politics. Black hair is a common characteristic of those holding high levels of sacred power, and so bloodlines are highly valued, resulting in close-knit families.
- the Academics Department, made up of scholars studying the Pestis and its effects, along with researching fragments of old humanity. Priests can enroll in this department after passing an exam held every year.
- the Health Department, whose role is to take care of those who get injured by the Pestis and help priests in need. They also handle other necessary matters to make the temple work properly, such as operating the temple's cafeteria and cleaning priests' clothes.
- and finally, an unique department to Saint Sheol, called the Cleanup Department. Originally a group named the Disposal Team which cleaned up after the Magic Department, it got reformed into its own department three years ago by the current cardinal. Their role is to clean up and dispose of anything beyond a single person's ability, which regularly includes finding and disposing of corspes. Usually, newcomers must be a part of this department for a month before being considered as official members of the clergy and being transferred to another department.
And so, Belial joins the Cleanup Department as a new recruit, along with Maya, another rookie. Unbeknown to him, he additionally got into an arranged marriage with Arne Alternata, the next lead of a powerful mage family. He also meet the other heroines - Grette, the kind therapist of the Health Department ; the odd Rose from the Academic Department ; the cheerful and talkative Clione ; and finally his own department's Bishop, the gentle and mystical Haku.
But as soon as he fall asleep, Belial is assaulted by nightmares featuring an immaculate, nude angel surrounded by blood, guts and gore every night. The angel always comes to his rescue, but what's unreal about her is that her face is the one of someone he knows. And thus, Belial's journey into the Underworld (and madness) begins.
HAPPY SAIN† SHEOL (ハッピーセイント・シェオル, or ハピセイ) is a 2022 indie adult Visual Novel developped by doujin team Hankei 122px no Meido, Seiniku Jousai (半径122pxの冥土、精肉城砦). It released on August, 13th 2022 in Japan on PC, through booth.pm
. The game is getting a Steam release, with official english and korean translations, by Sekai Project, with an announced release in 2024. A demo going until the end of the 5th in-game day released on December, 23th 2023.
A prequel strategy game titled HAPPY SAIN† ZERO got announced on the same day, and is currently in development. A Lighter and Softer spin-off, HAPPY SAIN† SHEOL ~Mouja Shoujo Maya~ ("Dead Girl Maya") is also in development since 2022, and received twos demos in December 2022 and 2023 respectively.
You can see its official website here.
HAPPY SAIN† SHEOL contains examples of :
- Christianity is Catholic : the setting's religion is pretty obviously based on Catholicism.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience : each Department got an associated color : blue for the Magic Department, pink for the Academics Department, green for the Health Department, and yellow for the Cleanup Department. This also extends to the heroines :
- Maya : light pink
- Arne : dark blue
- Rose : magenta
- Grette : light green
- Clione : pastel blue
- Haku : light yellow
- Creepy Cathedral : at the end of the 1st day, Belial encounters Haku for the first time near an abandonned chapel at night.
- Gorn : the game features blood, textual and pictural gore, and guro scenes, the latter mainly featuring the heroines.
- Guardian Angel : how Maya appears in Belial's dreams (or rather, nightmares).
- Multiple Endings : each heroine got an associated route, and thus a specific ending, in addition to the normal/bad end. During a first playthrough, only the normal/bad end is available.
- Sanity Slippage : Belial's mental health and sanity gradually worsens as days passes.
