Infiltration by the Black Hawks

The Infiltration by the Black Hawks was a highly clandestine operation, unbeknownst to even the Barsburg Imperial Army, carried out by Warsfeil group, The Black Hawks. The Barsburg Church was infiltrated at the orders of Miroku Barsburg after it is revealed that Teito Klein holds the Eye of Mikhail.

Following the death of Assistant Archbishop Bastien, the barrier was repaired which severely limited the movement and abilities of the two Black Hawks within the Church. They were forced to make changes to their plan, and their attempt to steal the Eye of Mikhail proved successful.

Their trespassing was masqueraded as an easier route towards Antwort which allowed them to evade punishment.

Pre-Raggs War
Before the Raggs War began, Antwort, an ally of the Raggs Kingdom (as the princess of Antwort was married to the Raggs King), seceded from the alliance between the two countries.

Raggs War
The Raggs War prompted the Kingdom of Antwort to arm themselves. The original container for Pandora's Box was taken to Antwort.

War with Antwort
Raggs' fall caused the Barsburg Empire to search for the Eye of Mikhail, not just in Raggs but in the neighbouring countries that had once allied themselves with Raggs. A war with Antwort began.

Reappearance of the Eye of Mikhail
"I saw it. That was the Eye of Mikhail, the real Eye of Mikahil."

- Chief of Staff Ayanami

Roughly ten years after the Raggs War, the son of the Raggs King (having learnt of his true origins) attempted to assassinate the Barsburg army's Chief of Staff, a participant in the Raggs War and killer of the Raggs King. The assassination attempt failed and Teito was imprisoned. However, with the help of his friend he was able to escape the district and flee to a nearby Church.

Mikage Celestine, friend of the now District 1 fugitive, Teito Klein, and accomplice in his escape, was possessed by Chief of Staff Ayanami and sent to the Barsburg Church to retrieve Teito, in order to bring charges of treason against him.

During a fight between the boys, the Eye of Mikhail, thought to have been lost but actually in Teito's possession, revealed itself.

Though Mikage was later defeated and killed, the reappearance of the Eye sparked fears that the Church would use it as a weapon, prompting the military to make plans to retrieve it.

History leading up to conflict
The infiltration continued from when the Black Hawks had entered during the Wars Attacks.

Attacking the Ghosts
While Bastien was fighting, Kuroyuri, Haruse and two other spies pose as an acolyte, a Bishop and Imperial Guardsmen respectively to gain access into Light Dungeon. Noting the disappearance of the two guards, Haruse leaves Kuroyuri to enter the dungeon alone while he confronts Labrador, who had subdued the guards after noticing they were imposters. Labrador infects Haruse with a plant that eats Wars, weakening him.

"Just as I suspected... If I seize this child, it's the same as seizing your soul. If half of his soul is in your possession, until you release it you share a life- isn't that right? But wouldn't it be a problem if the damage your servant received reached you through the link."

- Castor

Kuroyuri find Frau in his cell, and attacks him but it turns out to be a doll. He/she is then confronted by many Castor dolls. Kuroyuri is then attacked by Castor, who fights and ensnares the Black Hawk with his ghost strings and probes his/her soul so he is able to talk to Ayanami, who holds the other half of Kuroyuri's soul. Ayanami recognises Castor as the Ghost Fest, and Castor takes advantage of the link between Kuroyuri and Ayanami, and uses it to interrogate and torture Ayanami. However Kuroyuri uses his/her Wars which separates the two and Kuroyuri escapes with Haruse, who is slowly being eaten by Labrador's flowers.

Bastien's death
During the battle between Teito Klein and Bastien, Teito is swallowed by the darkness of Bastien's Wars. The Eye of Mikhail awakens and attempts to destroy the darkness around him, and Mikhail gravely injures Bastien during the fight, but is prevented from killing him by Teito. Bastien then attacks a distracted Teito and begins to consume him with darkness.

To protect his vessel from being killed, Mikhail absorbs the Wars and stores it in the Eye of Mikhail.

After this, Zehel, who has separated from his physical body, appears on the scene.

The Wars within Bastien, caused from years of using dangerous dark magic, starts to become hostile, and Bastien begins to realise the many crimes he has committed. Saying one last goodbye to Frau, he commands the God to kill him, saying that a god must not hesitate. Frau euthanizes him.

The death of Bastien meant that the barrier around the Church was repaired, which severely limited the movement and abilities of the two Black Hawks within the Barsburg Church. They were forced onto the rooftops, and had to make changes to their plan.

Decision to send the Black Hawks to Antwort
Leader of the Black Hawks and military strategist, Ayanami, meets with other high-ranking officers about the Antwort War. He disagrees with the generals' war tactics, which offends them, and they suggest he personally see to the matter.

The generals agree to send the Black Hawks to Antwort with an army of 1000 soldiers. To spite them, Ayanami agrees, and remarks that he will only need 500 men.

The conflict
Following the bungled attempt to kill the Ghosts at the Church, the Black Hawks instead turned their attentions to the Eye of Mikhail.

Capturing Teito
The general's decision to enlist the Black Hawks in the Antwort War provided Ayanami with the ideal alibi for entering District 7 (a no fly zone for military aircraft) to recover Kuroyuri and Haruse.

The change of plan is relayed to the two Black Hawks trapped within the Church.

Kuroyuri then manipulates the Wars that had earlier become trapped in the Eye of Mikhail to possess Teito Klein, incapacitating him in the process, and transports him to the rooftops of the Church- where the two Warsfeil can move freely. Hakuren Oak, who had seen this and attempted to help Teito, was accidentally absorbed and teleported too, much to the surprise of Kuroyuri and Haruse. Hakuren protests but is then knocked unconscious by Haruse with a punch to the gut, and taken aboard the Hawkzile with Teito, and the two Black Hawks attempt to drive back to the Ribidzile containing the remaining Black Hawks which has now entered District 7.

When they are in the air, Hakuren recovers and attempts to attack the Black Hawks. Haruse notices movement behind them and blocks one of Hakuren's attacks, which instead destroys a portion of the Hawkzile- resulting in the still unconscious Teito being thrown overboard. Hakuren dives after him, and both are saved by Frau, who had mounted a Hawkzile following Teito's abduction and arrived in time to catch them.

The waking of Mikhail
"The Wars is in your Eye! Take it out! Take it out or I'll cut it out!"

- Frau

Frau pours holy water on Teito, which weakens the Wars inside him but cannot destroy it. Mikhail wakes, and Frau implores him to remove the Eye (as the Wars resides in the Eye) but he is ignored.

As their Hawkzile flies close to the Ribidzile where Ayanami is, Frau is alarmed that his scythe starts reacting to someone on board the Ribidzile. Distracted by this, he is unable to defend the Hawkzile from another Black Hawk, Hyuuga, who confronts them and cuts their vehicle in half. Frau, Hakuren and Teito are separated as they fall. Hyyuga prepares to land a killing blow, but Castor had followed Frau's pursuit and uses his Ghost strings to stop Hyuuga's arm from moving. He (Castor) then catches a falling Hakuren and takes him to safety.

Removal of the Eye
Frau hijacks another Hawkzile, but Mikhail struggles to open his wings as he falls because the Wars has weakened his power. Haruse and Kuroyuri pursue him, and Mikhail prepares to attack Kuroyuri. This angers Haruse, and he (Haruse) pushes Kuroyuri out of the way and restrains Mikhail using the Wars.

"With this I perform my last duty. I will become one with you and return you to the military."

- Haruse

Ayanami demands Haruse switch places with him but Haruse refuses, knowing he is being sapped of power by Labrador's flowers. Kuroyuri orders Haruse to retreat, but Haruse uses his remaining power to force more Wars into the Eye of Mikhail- which forces Mikhail absorb more darkness and eventually leave Teito's body (successfully separating the Eye from Teito) to protect his vessel's soul from being eaten by the darkness. The resulting explosion, from Mikhail releasing Lv. 40 as he leaves, destroys a large portion of the ground below and leaves Haruse without a soul.

Capture of the Eye
"Are you by any chance Zehel? Aya-tan is going to take everything that's precious to you. ☆"

- Hyuuga

The, now separated, Eye of Mikhail and Teito Klein fall from the Hawkzile.

Frau gives chase and is soon confronted by Hyuuga, also chasing the Eye, who mocks him and laughs that 'Aya-tan will take everything precious away from you'. Frau is angered by the comment and attacks Hyuuga with his scythe, which Hyuuga blocks and a fight begins- with Hyuuga using his sword against Frau's scythe.

As Teito and the Eye of Mikhail fall from the sky, it becomes apparent that Frau cannot catch both of them. Frau then chooses to grab Teito, allowing Hyuuga to take the Eye of Mikhail and escape, where he delivers it to Ayanami on board the Ribidzile.

Teito is furious that Frau caught him (Teito) and let the Eye of Mikhail go, but Frau calms him.

Retreat
"My apologies for the lack of gratitude. We are heading towards Antwort in order to rescue our companions from the battlefront."

- Ayanami

Once the Eye has been taken, Labrador appears and reminds Ayanami that military aircraft are prevented from entering the 7th District. Ayanami replies that they travel to Antwort and are unable to go through any other route because of strong wind currents from the North. He then asks to pass through District 7, and Labrador relays his message to The Pope. The Pope allows the ships passage, and shows them the shortest route through the District.

Aftermath
The Eye remains in the possession of the Barsburg Armed Forces till Kapitel 85.

The raid on the Barsburg Church
The very public removal of the Eye of Mikhail caused the Barsburg Armed Forces to release a (false) statement that the blast was caused by the Eye of Raphael malfunctioning- to quash any hope former citizens of Raggs had of the Eye of Mikhail's return.

"On the pride of the first fleet, the one who can use the Eye of Mikhail will be obliterated!"

- Wakaba Oak

Field Marshal Wakaba Oak held a meeting with other high-ranking officers about the discovery of the Eye. Wakaba feared that the emergence of someone who is able to use the Eye poses a possibility of reviving the Raggs Kingdom, and the arrival of a new Prince of Raggs could also trigger a revolt from the Seven Houses of God. This would threaten the Empire's hold of the seven Districts.

Wakaba orders the vessel to the Eye be immediately found and eliminated.