Story & Illustrations No.01
The Proxy War of the Gods
Devastated by the Age of Warfare, people implored for the power of the Gods of Catastrophe. As people forget history, seeking further power, the present world moves once again towards chaos…

–World View–
The power of the gods that once plunged the world into chaos was sealed away in the Spirit Realm by the heroes.
This place, akin to a prison, came to be known as “The Imprisoned God Realm” – and those sealed within it, as the “Imprisoned Gods”…
That ancient history was eventually lost to the sands of time, and the peaceful world that the heroes once built became one of conflict and warfare.
“I am the envoy of God. If thou so desirest, I can grant thee the power to smite the invaders.”
Thus, nations formed contracts with the messengers of God, obtaining the power of that messenger’s Imprisoned God, expanding their power in the twinkle of an eye, devouring countless smaller nations.
Among them were three nations with staggering forces: the Academy City of Divine Arts, “Artmage”, the Thunderclap Empire “D.O.O.M.D.U.R.G.”, and the Fairy Domain, “Oratorio Garden”. Through their competing powers, humanity marched towards a World War with no end in sight.
K E Y W O R D S
Imprisoned God: Entities that plunged the world into chaos during ancient times. In the present age, they are incarcerated in the isolated Spirit Realm/Imprisoned God Realm “Vidolia”. They send their alter egos, the “Beasts that Serve the Gods” through a faint tear in the seal, as they scheme the means of their revival in the present era.
Beasts that Serve the Gods: Mysterious entities that suddenly appeared on the battlefield. They present themselves as messengers of the Gods, and in exchange for their faith through a contract, they lend power to the nations, yet their true identity is that of the Imprisoned Gods themselves. For some reason, many of them take the form of birds.
Successors: Those that form a contract with the Beasts that Serve the Gods. Those chosen through the succession system are granted the power of the Gods, becoming the rulers of the nation. In reality, this is a custom to find a vessel that can withstand the power of the Gods.
The Three Nations: Artmage, lead by the successor of Nerva, D.O.O.M.D.U.R.G., powered by the successor of Jupiter and the mass production of its power, and Oratorio Garden, a land impossible to invade thanks to the protection of its impenetrable defenses. Their methods vary, but they spend their days extracting high-level magical power from the Imprisoned God Realm to use in battle.

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TL notes:
-“Imprisoned God” (獄神, gokushin) is part of the Japanese name of the various Power Patrons of the story.
-Elara’s relationships are described as “腐れ縁” (kusare-en). This is a connection that is undesirable, yet somehow unavoidable over time. The diagram has limited space, so we are opting for a brief “can’t stand each other”.

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TL notes:
-Medius is skilled in 幻視 (genshi) arts, which is “visionary” arts but could also mean illusions, hallucinations, etc. His power, “theorealize”, is written as “無垢なる予幻視” (mukunaru yogenshi). The first part, mukunaru, means “pure” or “innocent”, like in Medius’ name. The latter, yogenshi, is a mix between “yogen”(予言, prophecy), and the 幻視 (genshi, hallucination/vision) from earlier.
-The “Divine Arts” (神芸術, shingeijutsu) is similar to the term used in the Japanese name for some of the Artmage cards (神芸, shingei, divine + art), but force-read as “Ar(t)magi”.
-Nerva uses the “Power Patron Beast”, which is part of the Japanese name for Artmage Power Patron (獄神獣, gokushinjuu).
-“Dragonewt” is common Japanese fantasy parlance for “a human with partial dragon ancestry”.

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TL notes:
-“DoomZ Twelve” is written as “終刻十弐戦機”, force-read as “Doomz Twelve”. The first two kanji (終刻) are “final” + “time/hour”, and are used in the names of the DoomZ monsters. The next two (十弐) mean “twelve”. The final two (戦機) are “battle/war” + “machine”.
-Drastea’s position among the DoomZ is written as “XII” but force-read as “Zero”, much like in its Japanese name.
-The “Imprisoned God Machine” is part of the Japanese name of Power Patron DoomZ (獄神機, gokushinki).

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TL notes:
-“Sacred Poems” (聖詩, seishi) are kanji included in the name of some of the Elfnote cards, but force-read as “Elfnote(s)”.
-The Elfnotes are described as a 聖歌隊 (seikatai). This is the word for “choir”, but in a more literal sense, the kanji mean “Sacred” + “Song” + “Squadron”. It’s possible that the author is combining both interpretations.
-The “Power Patron Spirit” (獄神精, gokushinsei) is part of the Japanese name of Elfnote Power Patron.

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TL notes:
-“Shining Sacred Fairies” is a way to convey the pun in the Japanese name of the Elfnotes: “耀聖” (yousei, “shining” + “sacred”) is a homophone to “fairy” (妖精). Similarly, the kanji for “poem” (詩) is also present in their Japanese names.

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End of chapter

TL notes:
-Regina is called the “Queen” of the battlefield (女王, joou), force-read as “Regina” (レギナ) like the card name. “Regina” is Latin for “Queen”.

Thanks to 蜈蚣过户费 at Bilibili for the scans