Artifacts (
Summary[]
When in possession of Rasiel, Kurumi discovered that prior to the creation of Spirits, magicians were able to craft tools bestowed with magical powers that defied human comprehension. These tools were later passed down to their descendants, with an unnamed prestigious household housing a large collection of these mythical items. When Matsurika Sukarabe attempted to steal these magical items, it triggered a fail-safe in the warehouse that caused the items to be scattered to trusted collaborators. However, due to the passage of time, most of the collaborators had already passed away, and the items were instead left to their children and grandchildren who had no knowledge about magic. In order to regather the items, Matsurika used an Artifact with the power of suggestion to replace the real young lady of the household. Then, she came up with a plan to recruit Kurumi as a detective in order to solve the impossible crimes that may arise from abusing her falsely claimed family heirlooms.
It should be noted that due to numerous myths and poor record-keeping of genuine Artifacts, it is very easy for deceptive items to become fabricated into Artifacts. Kurumi took advantage of this when concocting an auction to ensnare Matsurika's guilt. She made up a fake Artifact called Urðr's Clock (ウルズの時計, Uruzu no Tokei?), a pocket watch named after one of the Norns from Norse mythology, that supposedly has the power to peek into past memories. She also borrowed a replica of her former Astral Dress Elohim, claiming it was a magical garment that allowed the user to hide within shadows. [1]
List of Artifacts[]
- Magical Bullet (魔弾?): A supernatural bullet that will always land on its target no matter what obstacles stand in the way.[2]
- Galatea (ガラテア, Garatea?): Assumes the form of an ornate, red lipstick. By leaving a kiss mark on a doll from the lipstick, it allows the human soul to be transferred to a doll, thereby creating a living doll. While initially assumed to only work on dolls, the soul transfer can in fact be utilized on any inanimate object, ranging in size from a candlestick to even an entire mansion. To reverse the process, the kiss mark needs to be simply removed. However, even the wiped-away lipstick mark is reusable for transferring souls. [3]
- Ring of Gyges (ギュゲスの指輪, Gyugesu no Yubiwa?): A ring capable of granting invisibility to the wielder. It was first mentioned by Kurumi to be in the catalog of magical Artifacts. The item subsequently made its physical debut when Matsurika used the ring in an attempt to escape from the auction. [4]
- Staff of Hypnos (ヒュプノスの杖, Hyupunosu no Tsue?): A magical staff that is able to make its target forcefully fall asleep.
- Nectar (ネクタル, Nekutaru?): A magical potion that is said to restore the vitality of even an old body back to its prime, although repeated usage will gradually build up a tolerance to this miracle elixir. Originally, this Artifact was suspected to be the secret ingredient of the Rejuvenating Cuisine's special course menu. However, Kurumi eventually discovered that Vampir was the primary cause instead. [4]
- Vampir (
吸血鬼の牙 ?): An artifact that assumes the form of a kitchen knife that emits a mysterious glow. It's capable of absorbing the life force of others, granting the user their victims’ vitality and youth. Hatoko used the knife to cook her Rejuvenating Cuisine, which allowed her to maintain youthful looks at the expense of the customers eating her food. The customers enjoying their meal don't even realize their vitality is being stolen. Instead, they feel more youthful due to Vampir burning up the remainder of their lifespan as fuel.[4] - Changeling (
取り替え子 ?): A magical ornament that assumes the shape of a ring with patterns reminiscent of fairy wings. By soaking the item with the target's blood or wrapping it with the target's hair, it allows the user to transform into a doppelganger of the target. While transformed, senses and injuries become shared between the transformed person and the original. The ring simply needs to be removed in order to undo the transformation.[5] - Mermaid's Tear (人魚の涙, Ningyo no Namida?): An ornate blue gemstone that seals away the voice of anyone who speaks or sings in its presence for an extended duration. In order to break the seal, the stone needs to be broken. After being shattered by Nae, the gemstone loses its power and is reduced to being mere shards. [6]
- Salai's Pen (
小悪魔 のペン, Sarai no Pen?): A magical pen that allows the user to perfectly mimic another person's handwriting or art style by mixing the target's blood with the ink. The pen is used by Jun Iwanaga's niece to copy her aunt's drawing skills and continue the manga Hasei no Schedar after the death of the original creator. [7] - Brocken’s Magic Mirror (ブロッケンの
魔鏡 , Burokken no Makyou?): An ultra-high performance projector that reproduces input images from a different time and place. After being donated to Raizen High School, it gains the reputation of granting wishes if one approaches the mirror at midnight. In actuality, it is responsible for creating the Ghost haunting the school grounds as the last of the Seven New Wonders. Although Kurumi learns the method of removing the footage from the Artifact catalog, she teases Natsumi by erroneously saying that she needs to trace the magic letters on the mirror’s frame three times clockwise starting from the top left, then dance in front of the mirror for three minutes to remove recorded images. [8] - Scáth Hand (
影法 師の手, Sukā no Te?): An artifact that takes the form of a glove with a magical formula engraved inside. Those touched by the glove will have their shadows snatched and their presence weakened, with even communication through phone conversations and text messaging left impossible. However, the victim's interactions with the world can still be noticed in a limited fashion, as seen by how the rest of her friends noticed Tohka's breakfast was already eaten. Origami also took advantage of this by rearranging the order of a row of dolls to send a covert Morse code message to Kurumi. When erasing presences, the glove is set to sacrifice (牲, Nie?), so to reverse the effects the glove's configuration must be changed to EIN. [9] - Elixir Cauldron (エリクシルの釜, Erikushiru no Kama?): An Artifact that can store and crystalize the power of the spiritual veins into a Philosopher Stone. However, once placed into position, the user is unable to move the cauldron until the stone is completed, which can take over a century to finish. The original cauldron was damaged by the Eurasia Spacequake and subsequently refurbished by an artist unknowingly. This caused issues when it came into contact with the water supply, contaminating it so that it also drained the life energy of people who touched the water.
Trivia[]
- The magical bullet is a reference to the story of Der Freischütz, an opera written by Carl Maria von Weber, where a marksman makes a deal with the devil to obtain magical bullets with supernatural accuracy.
- In Greek mythology, Galatea is the name of a statue ivory carved by Pygmalion of Cyprus, which was brought to life by the blessings of Aphrodite.
- Ring of Gyges is the name of a hypothetical invisibility-granting ring mentioned in book 2 of Plato's Republic.
- Vampir is the Hungarian word for vampire.
- Changeling in European folklore refers to the replacement of children by fairies.
- Salai is a reference to the name of Leonardo da Vinci's apprentice, who had the nickname of being a little devil.
- Brocken's Magic Mirror is a reference to the Brocken specter phenomenon, where an enormous shadow is cast mid-air opposite of a strong light source.
- Scáth is the Old Irish word for shadow.