Rance/Characters/Holy Magic Sect
The Holy Magic Sect was the largest civilization ever made by humanity during the GI Era, in the year GI0353, on top of being the first group who fully unified it under its banner in no less than 10 years. It was founded by Luca Rune, the strongest Human Mage of the time, who gathered many prominent mages, and their mastery of Magic Science allowed them to gain access to the advanced technology of Magitek, mainly by channeling magic for other uses than battle. They quickly grew up to one of the most influencial group of the entire Continent, with numerous advances and progress in everyday life, and their goal is to protect humanity from the threat of the Monster Realm.
Their greatest creation was the ability to transform one's body into a mechanical humanoid with enhanced strength, durability and abilities, similar to cyborgs and effectively gaining immortality in the process, named "Warlords". They served as peacekeepers across the Continent, further ensuring prolonged period of peace for humanity, along with enchanted scarecrows and automated farmers to put an end to famine. Finally, their major cities were floating islands scattered above the Continent, as a symbol of their otherworldy power.
However, Rune had greater plans. He was fully aware of the bloody history of humanity against the Archfiend and its army, and wished to defeat them once and for all. First, the group began the creation of 24 "Wargods", giant humanoid weapons created for one purpose only: fighting monsters and Fiends to the death. To pilot a Wargod, it would require the continuous backup of a Warlord, who then channel his powers into the mighty giant through a Control Casket designed for keeping the Warlord safe and alive, while allowing them to fully synchronise with it, and were made to receive orders from Rune himself.
Many Fiends were worried of the group's constant growing power, and plead their creator to act before it would overpower them: The production of the Wargods came to halt after the Archfiend Gai launched a surprise attack against the Sect, leaving 20 of them available for battle, in a conflict known as the Fiend War. While the Archfiend didn't participate in the war himself, he let his army do as they please. Many battles were fought between the Fiends and the Wargods, whose goal was more keeping the former at bay and slowly gaining territory through attrition, since they cannot break their Invincibility Field.
Despite some victories for humanity, notably the defeat of the Fiend Babolat in the war, neither side could gain territory over the course of 32 years, since the Sect repelled many Fiends' assaults but didn't succeed at invading the Monster Realm. Revolutions and outbreaks began to spread due to the attrition of the war, which caused Rune to descend into madness and rage: considering non-Mages and humans on the Continent as "barbarians" for rebelling against him, he ordered Wargods and Warlords to attack Fiends and Humans alike. His deadly crusade were put to an end after his assassination in the year GI0452 by his former friend Freak Paraffin, aided by Hunty Kalar and Replica Misty.
Following his death, the Sect quickly crumbled along with its creator, leaving only some floating islands wandering aimlessly, while most of the Wargods and Warlords left living in them, destroyed, or sealed. The Kingdom of Zeth was made from the remains of a floating island, granting them the most advanced technology powered by Mana Batteries, and sheltering most of the Mages across the Continent, who were persecuted due to their ancestors' role in the Fiend War.
Founders
Luca "Magic Master" Rune
The founder and leader of the Holy Magic Sect. Luca Rune grew up in an era where humanity was dominated by the Archfiend Gai, and together with his mentor Freak Paraffin developed a new branch of magic, which he termed "Holy Magic". He proceeded to create a new nation, the Holy Magic Sect, and raised a massive army of magical cyborg superweapons to fight against the Archfiend's armies in one of the most successful human counteroffensives in history. Unfortunately, toward the end of his life, humanity began to rebel against him due to his failure to actually kill the Archfiend, and he went mad, ordering his creations to kill any non-Magic Sect humans in addition to the Archfiend's forces. He was killed by Freak to prevent him from doing any more damage.
- The Archmage: Invented the entire practice of Holy Magic and was its most powerful practicioner. Even Freak Paraffin has failed to show anywhere near the kind of mastery Rune displayed with it. He's remembered as one of the most powerful human mages to ever live.
- Fallen Hero: He was responsible for one of the most peaceful eras of human history on the Continent, only to go mad in his last days and attempt to exterminate all those who defied him.
- Necromancer: He used Freak's "Death Magic" as a basis for Holy Magic. Most notably, his foot soldiers, the Holy Skeletal Fighting Marshalls, are reanimated mage corpses augmented with magic and technology.
- Posthumous Character: He's long dead by the time of the Rance games, but his actions are extremely important to the setting's backstory.
- World's Strongest Man: Was considered the most powerful human Mage to ever live in his prime, and his invention of Holy Magic made him into one of the most influential people of humanity's history.
Freak Paraffin
See his entry in Helman.
Warlords
Supersoldiers created by MM Rune to do battle against the armies of the Archfiend, as well as serve as peacekeepers within the Sect. Immortal, tireless, and far stronger and tougher than any human, yet still possessing the same intelligence, reason, and magic capabilities they had as humans, they were highly effective combatants.
With the fall of the Sect, very few Warlords remain operational in the modern age, as most of them were destroyed or deactivated.
Dio Calmis
Claimed to be the strongest Warlord ever created, and not without reason. Dio was known for incredible combat capabilities unmatched even by other Warlords, but it was accompanied by a sadistic bloodlust that made Dio uncontrollable, so he was sealed up by Freak Paraffin.
- Arch Enemy: He as a particular grudge against Freak Paraffin for the sealing, and singles him out in particular when fighting on Ylapu.
- Boxed Crook: Bitch makes him into his subordinate by planting Puchi Hannies inside his body that he can detonate at will. Even a Warlord can't withstand that, so Dio reluctantly agrees to follow Bitch's orders.
- Combat Sadomasochist: He loves combat and particularly enjoys watching people despair when faced with an overpowering enemy (ie, himself).
- No Sell: He's completely immune to magic. Apparently this is because he, quite simply, doesn't believe magic exists at all... which is odd, considering he was a member of the Holy Magic Sect.
- Underestimating Badassery: He meets his end when attacked by Hunty Kalar, who had come to rescue Freak. He assumes a Kalar can pose no threat to him... and is obliterated.
Replica Misty
A friend of Freak's, who was left aboard Ylapu to safeguard Wargod Upsilon and prevent it from being activated. She ends up running afoul of Bitch's group when they arrive to take control.
- Ace Custom: Her Warlord body is not standard: it was made with a magic-resistant metal rather than Living Metal, mitigating a Warlord's typical weakness to magic. This magic-resistant metal proved an enormous aid in the fight against MM Rune. On the other hand, it isn't ageless and it can break down or rust.
- Emergency Transformation: Freak turned her into a Warlord to save her life after MM Rune destroyed her nation. Hence why she calls herself "Replica" Misty: she considers herself a shadow of the original Misty.
- Revenge: She, Freak, and Hunty Kalar were the ones who finally assassinated MM Rune, earning Misty revenge for the destruction of her kingdom.
Borg Rauzen Stomauss
A Warlord assigned to Wargod City Upsilon. He was heavily damaged in a battle with the Fiend Lexington, and was deactivated to await repair. However, the Sect fell, and his repair never came. He's reactivated in Rance IV, and he attempts to kill Rance's party, following MM Rune's final command to destroy non-Sect humanity.
- Mind Control: It's stated that he had an Absolute Obedience spell cast on him, which is why he's so loyal to the long-dead Sect and MM Rune.
- Shockwave Stomp: His signature attack, Breaker Earth, which causes a localized earthquake that damages everyone in the vicinity.
- Superpower Meltdown: He pushes his broken body too hard when fighting Rance's party, which results in it breaking down and his death at Rance's hands. It's said that at full power, he could have destroyed Rance easily.
Doctor Moganda
An unusual Warlord designed not for combat but for research. He remains active on Ylapu, trying to find ways to reactivate the Wargod City.
- Badass on Paper: He's a Warlord, made of immortal Living Metal. One would think he's a powerful fighter, even if science is his main focus. Actually, he's just as weak as a normal human scientist and has no abilities whatsoever in combat.
- Cloudcuckoolander: At several points, Rance's party catches him performing a strange dance for no apparent reason. He quickly realizes he has things to do in each instance and stops dancing.
- Mad Scientist: He seems to have lost sight of his original goal of reactivating Wargod Upsilon, instead spending his time making cyborgs out of the local monsters and occasional humans that wander into his clutches.
- My Brain Is Big: His skull is several times larger than normal, indicating his intellect. It's likely his Warlord body was designed this way on purpose.
- Starter Villain: He's the early game antagonist for Rance IV, not that big a threat but enough to serve as a warmup for the true villains.
Bastet
One of the first Warlords created, and an extremely powerful one. Though Dio Calmis claimed to be the strongest Warlord, even his accomplishments paled before those of Bastet.
- One-Man Army: He made his mark on the world by slaughtering over 2000 Monsters in a single battle.
- The Paragon: He was held up as a symbol of the Holy Magic Sect's might and many people flocked to join up with them upon hearing of his accomplishments.
Wargods
The ultimate superweapons developed by MM Rune, designed to be capable of fighting the Fiends themselves in direct combat. Though they couldn't get through the Invincibility Field, the Wargods were at least as strong as the Fiends, and were able to hold the Fiends off or pin them down while humanity's armies destroyed the monster armies. Each Wargod consisted of a main combat body, a pilot sealed within a control casket, and an entire flying island known as a Wargod City acting as support and carrying additional armies to back the Wargod up.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Upon receiving the final order by MM Rune to eliminate non-mages, all of them were magically bound to attack humanity and monsters alike.
- Genius Loci: It's stated that the humanoid combat body is just one part of the Wargod as a whole: the entire floating landmass is the Wargod's body.
- Humongous Mecha: Each of them easily tower over most of the living beings on the Continent, being at the same height of the likes of Kayblis or Noce.
- Lost Technology: MM Rune was the only person who really knew how the control caskets worked, as well as how to bond a human mind and soul to the immortal body of a Wargod. As such, no more Wargods have been manufactured since the fall of the Holy Magic Sect.
- The Juggernaut: The title of "Wargod" was not for show: Each of the Wargods had strength equal to, or even surpassing, the Fiends.
- Theme Naming: Each unit was named for a letter of the Greek alphabet. Alpha was the first one constructed, while Omega was the last.
- Victory by Endurance: Since they couldn't actually harm the Fiends, this was their main strategy: fight continuously, relentlessly, unendingly, until the Fiend was too worn out to continue and was forced to retreat. It worked enough for humanity to reclaim their territory and establish defenses against further Monster incursions, but in the long term did no real lasting damage to the Archfiend's forces.
- You Shall Not Pass: While they didn't manage to take territory from the Monster Army, their presence and huge defenses served to protect humanity and allowed them to put itself back together.
Δ (Delta)
One of the 24 Wargods. Designed to look more like a priest than a soldier.
- Power Crystal: Though Delta is permanently offline, his power furnace and Wargod City were salvaged by Zeth and form the core of the Maginot Line, their impenetrable wall of magic guns that stands against Monster invasions.
- Riddle for the Ages: Exactly how the Wargod was destroyed remains a mystery. All that's known is that it happened around the border between Zeth and the Monster Realm.
- Wizard Duel: Relied more on magic attacks than brute physical strength. This lead to a devastating magic duel between himself and the Fiend Ithere, which ultimately ended in Ithere's retreat after attempting, and failing, to breach Delta's Wargod City.
Ζ (Zeta)
One of the most famous Wargods, responsible for humanity's greatest victory during the Fiend War: The defeat of the Fiend Babolat.
- Famed in Story: Remembered as a great champion of humanity, despite what happened to the Holy Magic Sect in the end. The humanoid combat body of Zeta was recovered and is currently on display in a Zeth museum, though it is inoperable due to the loss of its control casket.
- Forever War: His battle with Babolat lasted over seven straight years.
- Taking You with Me: He destroyed Babolat by detonating his own power furnaces. Thanks to the Invincibility Field, this didn't actually harm Babolat, but it did bury him under many thousands of tons of rock, leaving him incapacitated for over 300 years.
Θ (Theta)
One of the 24 Wargods, Theta was remarkable in being the only Wargod piloted, and modelled after, a woman rather than a man.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Theta was finally taken down when someone attacked her control casket and killed the mage piloting the machine. Noce was so enraged at having his kill stolen that he became known as "The Wargod Crusher" afterward.
- Famed in Story: She once fought the Fiend Noce for over 70 days in hand-to-hand combat.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: The mage that operated Theta was a martial arts master, and primarily relied on those skills in battle.
- Red Baron: She was titled the Golden Goddess, for having a body made of golden metal.
Λ (Lambda)
Lambda fighting the Fiend Galtia and his Apostles. One of the 24 Wargods. Lambda was known as the most powerful Wargod ever fielded.
- Animal Mecha: Lambda's body was based on an Earth Dragon rather than a human's, and was much more powerful than the standard model.
- The Dreaded: Lambda was feared by the Fiends, with only the Dread Fiends being able to put up a fight against it.
- Posthumous Character: It's long dead by the time of the Rance games, having been destroyed near the end of the Fiend War.
- World's Strongest Man: In its day, it was the most powerful non-Fiend presence in the Continent. How exactly it was finally defeated is unknown.
Σ (Sigma)
One of the 24 Wargods. Sigma was particularly notable for his personal battle against the Fiend Lei.
- Adaptive Ability: Sigma continually upgraded his capabilities after each fight with Lei, growing stronger and stronger.
- Attack Its Weak Point: Sigma fell victim to this. While he was busy fighting Lei, another Fiend, Lexington, sneaked into his Wargod City and killed the mage piloting Sigma, shutting the Wargod down immediately.
- Worthy Opponent: Considered Lei to be his personal rival, and the two fought numerous times with Sigma growing even stronger between battles. Lei was incredibly angry when the Fiend Lexington destroyed Sigma in a sneak attack on the pilot.
Υ (Upsilon)
One of the 24 Wargods, created by the Holy Magic Sect as a superweapon against the Fiends. Upsilon was originally a mage by the name of Sergio Conp. His Wargod City was left more or less untouched by the fall of the Sect and became known as the floating continent Ylapu.
- Final Boss: The final boss of Rance IV, requiring all of Rance's party and a few Deus Ex Machina to beat.
- Genius Loci: He describes the monsters who have set up shop on the floating island as "parasites infesting my body".
- Healing Factor: He can instantly repair his body by drawing on the power of the mage being used as a battery for him. This is a problem for Rance's party as it makes it near impossible to wear him down.
- It Only Works Once: Rance manages to surprise him and uses Feliss to steal his power source in one battle. He tries this trick again in the final fight, but Upsilon is ready for it this time.
- The Juggernaut: Even at a fraction of his full strength, he proves to be a struggle for Rance, Rick Addison, Leila, an empowered Julia, Shizuka, Maria, Kanami, Sill, and Athena 2.0 all attacking him at once.
- Load-Bearing Boss: Once Upsilon is defeated and the Wargod City is unpowered, the entire floating island crashes to earth.
- Powered by a Forsaken Child: His one weakness is that he needs a huge supply of magic power to keep functioning. In his case, he requires a female mage to be sealed in a crystal sphere to supply him with power (Why female? Because women are able to reproduce, which gives them greater life energy). The fact that there are six such crystal spheres and only one is used suggests he was at a sixth of his full power during the game.
Ω (Omega)
A Wargod body designed for Freak Paraffin, that wound up never actually being used. Supposedly it would have had strength surpassing all other Wargods.
- Godzilla Threshold: In Kichikuou Rance, Freak activates it as a last resort against the Fiend RedEye, and succeeds in killing it at the cost of his life.
- Skull for a Head: It had a disturbing, demonic skull for a face, making it look horrifying.
MM
The true ultimate Wargod, designed for MM Rune himself. It was built in secret, and only Freak Paraffin and Hunty Kalar knew of its existence. Rune was killed before he had a chance to ever activate it.
- Ace Custom: More powerful than any other Wargod, being built after them with lessons from previous defeats taken into account. It was said to be capable of fighting four Fiends at once and winning.
- Final Boss: Of Rance IX, after being activated by Stessel Romanov. It takes practically an entire army to take it down.
- Flunky Boss: As if being the most powerful Wargod wasn't enough, it can summon tons of enemies in a fight.
- Odd Name Out: The only Wargod not named for a letter of the Greek alphabet.
- One-Man Army: Not only is it incredibly powerful on its own, but can summon other Holy Sect constructs to itself, giving it a literal army on hand at all times.
- Summon Magic: Capable of large-scale teleportation magic to bring other mecha to the battlefield.