07-Ghost

07-Ghost (セブンゴースト, Sebun Gōsuto) (stylized as 07-GHOST) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara.

It was serialized in Ichijinsha's josei manga magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum from June 2005 to August 28, 2013, with its chapters collected in Seventeen tankōbon volumes as of September 2013.

Comi for release in North America, but they stopped publishing in October 2009 and Viz Media has since picked up the license for the series.

Teito Klein is a former slave who now attends the Barsburg Empire's military academy due to his ability to use a rare and highly prized type of supernatural force known as Zaiphon.

Stopping to listen, he suddenly realizes that the speaker, Chief of Staff Ayanami, is the person who killed the familiar man in his dreams: His father, the king of the destroyed Raggs Kingdom.

Teito pretends to hold Mikage hostage, then makes his escape, though he is wounded by a Zaiphon blast that Ayanami directs at him.

In due time, it is discovered that Teito carries the Eye of Mikhail, a powerful talisman for which his home country was destroyed.

This fact, as well as a fateful reunion, catapults Teito into a quest for revenge against the Barsburg Empire and for knowledge about his past.

At the same time, his status as the bearer of the Eye of Mikhail throws him into the long-standing conflict with the evil Verloren and his enemies, the 07 Ghosts.

Zaiphon is the "magic" of 07-Ghosts world, the ability to convert life energy into various forms of power and is the force which keeps the continent afloat in the sky.

Zaiphon is controlled by converting strong emotions into power, often taking the shape of words, though people may use weapons to channel said energy.

According to a centuries-old myth, the God of Death, Verloren (Dutch or German for Lost), "killed" the daughter of the Chief of Heaven and was forced to escape to the earth.

Though Verloren has been sealed away in Pandora's Box for over 1000 years, his messengers, the Kor, find and contact humans to bring them under his influence.

The Ghosts' names are Zehel, Fest, Prophet, Landkarte, Reliquie (or Relikt), Eher and Vertrag, all of which have Dutch or German origins.

There are evil beings who want to interfere with this process; among them are Verloren's messengers, the Kor, who steal dreams and drag humans into darkness.

Despite the angst filled and mysterious storyline, the manga also includes quite a bit of humor from Teito's and Mikage's horseplay and our three bishops' quirks, and chibis and deformed expressions are used for these scenes.

"Written and illustrated by Yuki Amemiya and Yukino Ichihara, 07-Ghost was serialized in Ichijinsha's josei manga magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum.

[a] The series finished its final installment in the October 2013 issue of Monthly Comic Zero Sum, published on August 28, 2013.

[35] Sakura Eries from Mania.com comments that the manga contains "supernatural shōnen action title with a complex plot" and "emotional moments between Teito and Mikage" for shōjo readers.

The main villains from left to right: Konatsu, Hyuuga and Ayanami, shown in chibi form
From left to right: Mikage, Hakuren, Mikage's reincarnated self (Burupya), and Teito