DEAD APOSTLES
Dead Apostles (死徒,
Shito?) are humans that became
vampires either by the use of
Magecraft (like
Nrvnqsr Chaos, though this kind is rare) or by the actions of another vampire of similar nature (in this case, either a
True Ancestor or another Dead Apostle). Among the creatures that fall under the vampire category, they are the most numerous.
The original members of this kind of vampire were created to act as countermeasures in the case of a True Ancestor being overwhelmed by his or her thirst for blood. In exchange for losing their free will and becoming a tool to relieve the vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors, these individuals were granted powers and longevity similar to their masters. However, what they received was a flawed form of immortality and it was soon discovered that they needed to suck the blood of others to survive. Just like the True Ancestors, these vampires have the instinct known as
Vampiric Impulses (吸血衝動,
Kyūketsu Shōdō?),
[3] which pushes them to suck the blood of others. But differently than the
vampiric impulses of the True Ancestors, they have the physical need to suck the blood of others in order to maintain their own bodies.
The result of repeatedly sucking the blood of humans was the emergence of a sense of superiority in the Dead Apostles. Such a thing eventually gave birth to a feeling of rebellion, which then lead the Dead Apostles to find ways of strengthening their mental control and escaping from the domain of the True Ancestors. After the rebellion, these blood-sucking humans became known as the Dead Apostles.
Although the Dead Apostles are maverick and individualistic by nature, there is a form of ruling body among them:
The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors. At first a group formed only by the original Dead Apostles who escaped from the True Ancestors, today however it is more of a collection of very odd, but powerful bloodsucking characters who are divided into multiple rival factions.
TRUE ANCESTORS
Unique existences even among the
vampires, the
True Ancestors (真祖,
Shinso?) are incarnated
nature spirits (akin to the
Elementals). They are vampiric creatures from
birth, however, the root of their bloodlust is psychological rather than physical. Also, because they are part of nature, they can use the power of
Marble Phantasm to change the world around them according to their thoughts.They are said to be Planet-class Spirits, a rank higher than
Divine Spirits.
[2]
At an undetermined point of time in the past,
Gaia, the will of the planet, suffered with the indiscriminate corruption that humans caused in the environment. Because at the time it lacked the means to defend itself from
humans, Gaia sent a plea to the other celestial bodies for help, on the criteria that only a planet is able to correctly judge another of its kind.
The one who answered Gaia's plea was
Brunestud of the Crimson Moon who offered a pact to the planet: in exchange of being allowed to live on Earth, Crimson Moon would allow the creation of a self-defense mechanism for the planet based on him. From this pact between the Ultimate One of the moon and the will of the Earth the True Ancestors were born, created for the purpose of returning the planet to its original state, before the corruption caused by humans.
THE TWENTY SEVEN DEAD APOSTLES
The
Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors (死徒二十七祖,
Shito Nijūnanaso?) are the aristocratic elite of the
vampires. The original group were those of the
Dead Apostles who escaped from their role as the "emergency rations" of the
True Ancestors, but it currently refers to the distinct factions amongst the Dead Apostles due to some having been succeeded by new generations of Dead Apostles.
They are very powerful beings, and many have the ability to utilize
Reality Marbles. Their general rankings are not determined exclusively by how powerful he or she is individually. Those within the first ten ranks cannot be defeated by normal concepts, as they, themselves, are fantasy much like members of the
Phantasmal Species. Those who live in fantasy can only be defeated by fantasy that is greater than themselves. Furthermore, for those who have reached the Ancestor class, it is possible to exist as a phantom even after losing the physical body.They are, on average, capable of facing
Servants in battle, but, as both are types of beings that live in
Mystery, such battles would come down to "having the means of killing the other guy somehow."
[4]
PHANTASMAL BEINGS/SPIRITS
Phantasmal Species (幻想種, Gensō-shu?) is the common term used to refer to all non-human creatures that are found in legends and fantasy.[1][2]
They are those existences that deviate from their original form by the impact of factors alien to their ecology, those existences born from the thoughts of humans and those existences that ascend to a higher order due to longevity. Then, if it is believed that the subject of a Mystery "exists," the World permits its existence. There are also existences desired by the world, but not by humans, and because of this they have gradually gone into hiding and dwindled in numbers. Rather than a classification for a separate ranking for beasts, it encompasses everything from demi-humans, such as fairies and giants, to monsters, such as dragons and oni. They differ from Daemons, as they are active creatures rather than passive existences. Similarly to how magi gain power through the accumulation of knowledge, those of the Phantasmal Species become stronger through the accumulation of time.