Nazo No Kako

Nazo No Kako (なぞのかこ lit. mysterious past) also known as "**Dark Past**" and "**A mysterious Past**" is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Emi Akamatsu.

The story takes place in a fictional universe where the queen of demons, Kata Urami, has control over realities. The plot revolves around Asuree Palacy, who after witnessing the death of her mother and moving to Japan along with her three younger brothers, is transferred along with her brothers to another reality by order of Kata Urami, in this reality the war it is abundant along with demons and things known as Soul Keepers. Later, Asuree decides to become a warrior in order to achieve peace and face Kata.

## **Plot**

The story focuses on the Akuma No Machi town, located in the southeast of Japan, where there is a war between this town and Bukiminahi, this is where the queen of demons, Kata Urami, was born, condemning humanity in grave danger because she obtained control over all realities. Kata, being war-weary, came up with a plan; Choose four children with the greatest potential as warriors and with a great repressed anger to send them to her reality, turn them into demon-warriors and end the war. The plan obviously caused terror in the people, but in the end it was carried out, and those chosen children were Asuree Palacy, Rejina Palacy, Cesaru Palacy and Violeth Palacy, the four of them were brothers who previously lived in a very poor town in France, they had witnessed the death of his mother and they had forced to move to Japan. After the plan had already been carried out, the chosen children were adopted by Keita Yamada and had been trained to be warriors.

Time passes in the story, and the chosen children become warriors, but are met with fear from the people; The demons. These creatures are the product of the fact that at some point, the gates of hell were opened due to a badly made pact, and the demons began to roam the streets of Akuma No Machi, these creatures have a very high height and enormous strength, that the menace of mankind made them. They also meet the Soul Keepers, these are the souls of people who could not die in peace, some are considered threats, for example the shadows, these beings have an exaggeratedly high height and variable strength.

As the story progresses, the origin of peoples, wars and others are revealed. It is also known about the Poreuse sect, the power of various families such as the Azai and the lies that are hidden from the people.

## **Characters**

### **Protagonist**

* **Asuree Palacy**: A young woman who previously witnessed her mother's death and is in charge of her three younger siblings, she was chosen by Kata's plan. She is a reserved, shy and insecure girl who would not hesitate to protect her brothers and loved ones, she seeks the desire to return to her reality but at the same time to end wars healthily. A few years later, she becomes one of the strongest warriors and helps humanity to move away from its agony caused by wars.

### **Main Characters**

* **Elly Smith**: A teenager born in Akuma No Machi, she is looking to avenge her older sister who was kidnapped, she constantly lives with the guilt of the death of all her family and friends, previously she was a student, but due to her depression she dropped out of school and began to be a warrior She is a melancholic, intelligent and very stubborn girl, when she met Asuree she became a little more protective acting as if she were an older sister.
* **Jess Jiyū**: A person of unknown gender and a mysterious identity born in Akuma No Machi, since in his childhood he forgot all his important information except his name, Jess is a warrior. Jess is a very spontaneous, cheerful and perceived person.
* **Keita Yamada**: He is a slightly older man, born in Akuma No Machi, he is the most specialized healer in the entire area. Keita is the adoptive father of Elly, Asuree, Rejina, Cesaru and Violeth, he has an incredible paternal instinct because at some point he wished to be a father together with his former lover who was unfortunately murdered. He is a calm, quiet and wise man although he has been considered mysterious.
* **Rejina Palacy**: She is Asuree's sister being her junior by two years, she was also chosen for Kata's plan. She is a brave, intelligent and competitive girl who is not afraid of danger, she wishes to return to her reality and seek a little peace of mind. Rejina became a warrior after a few years of training, later to be considered "The strongest woman who ever lived".
* **Cesaru Palacy**: He is Asuree's brother, being three years younger than her, he was also chosen for Kata's plan. He is an imaginative, spontaneous and competitive boy who has a sentimental side, he wants more than anything to use his creativity in order to help others. Cesaru became a warrior after a few years of training to accompany his older sisters and be able to protect his younger sister.
* **Violeth Palacy**: A young girl who is seen growing little by little, she is the youngest of the Palacy siblings, being 9 years younger than Asuree, Violeth was chosen for Kata's plan. For most of the plot she was taken care of by Keita Yamada, but as she grew older she became the current youngest warrior. Violeth is a carefree, strong and rude girl, but she has a great strategy in battles.

### **Secondary Characters**

* **Seiji Hojo**: He is an older man, who is the Yoritakai of Akuma No Machi. He is a bossy, strict and serious person who will seek to protect his adopted daughter before anything else.
* **Asa Takeda**: He is the best battle trainer in Akuma No Machi. A classmate of Seiji Hojo, Asa is a laid back, carefree and free person who does whatever he wants. He is usually too good with weapons like swords.
* **Kaede Jundo**: She is a little girl who was killed and now her soul is left in the world as Angel's Soul Keeper. Kaede is an innocent, kind and playful person who seeks to take care of everyone and that no one has the cruel fate that she had.
* **Abeba**: She is a warrior of Akuma No Machi, she is the adoptive daughter of Seiji Hojo. Previously, she was born in Africa but was moved to Europe for enslavement and later moved to Japan for her own good. Abeba is a brave, intelligent and observant woman who will not hesitate to kill any bad person.
* **Daiki Azai**: He is the emperor of Akuma No Machi, he has three influential sons in the government of Akuma No Machi. Daiki is a proud, affectionate and a little worried man, he previously had a spouse who is the mother of his current children, but she died in childbirth of the third child.