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Spoiler Alert: This page contains spoilers. Read at your own risk. |
| Introduction |
Ichijou Masaki (一条 将輝) is a student of Third High School and the scion of the Ichijou Family from the Ten Master Clans. He is first introduced as one of the lead representatives of their school in the Newcomers' Division in Nine Schools Competition. [1] Even before meeting face-to-face, Masaki and Kichijouji already harbored a bit of rivalry against Tatsuya who served as a technician during the competition. On the other hand, Masaki likes the latter's sister, Miyuki.
Appearance and Personality
Masaki is described as someone with a charming visage, has a handsome aura that stands out and perfectly matches the description of a "young and handsome warrior" in the archaic fashion. He stands near 180 cm in height with a thick set of shoulders, compact waist and slender legs.
As described by his schoolmates, he is a man whose physical appearance is popular with the ladies. None the less, he rarely shows interest with the opposite sex and usually the females would be the one that try to approach him. The only exception seems to be Shiba Miyuki as he is attracted to her at the first time he lands his eyes on her during the Nine School Competition.
When talking to Shiba Miyuki, Masaki becomes anxious and uneasy in her presence (though actually those are the normal occurrence for almost everyone by her presence). Even though he is accustomed to moving through higher social circles, he never fails to be rattled by Miyuki's flawless etiquette and beauty.
Masaki has a strong fighting spirit especially towards his considered rival, Shiba Tatsuya. In battle, he is calm and analytical even in unexpected situations.
Because Masaki is part of the Ten Master Clans, he holds a sense of responsibility to lend his power to the Magic Association in times of need. [2]
Background
Ichijou Masaki is the next head of house for one of the Ten Master Clans and possesses the proud title "Crimson Prince."
Three years ago, when the Great Asian Alliance invaded Okinawa, the New Soviet Union also took military action on Sado, where the young man of a mere 13 years volunteered for the front lines and, alongside the current head of the Ichijou Family, Ichijou Gouki, used "Rupture" to annihilate many enemy soldiers. While the scale of the battle was quite small (to this day, the New Soviet Union denies their connection with the militants that invaded Sado), he was awarded the title "the Crimson Prince of the Ichijou Family" for his exploits. (Here, "Crimson" praised him for the fact that "he was bathed in blood and fought to the last" rather than being a derogatory "bloodthirsty" label.)
During the Nine Schools Competition when he was a Year 1 student, Masaki won 1st place in the Newcomers' Division Icicle Destruction Event, but only secured 2nd place with his three man team in the Monolith Code event of the same division.
His participation in the Monolith Code was one that involved matches won by a complete landslide due to his power alone. They were completely one-sided with Masaki just leisurely pacing towards his opponents in the opening with them helpless to damage him in any way by throwing boulders or using high caliber magic against Masaki. He also can constantly use high ranked magic abilities such as shown from the final battle of Monolith Code against Tatsuya, a testament of his magic talent. These are the feats that showcases why Masaki is worthy of being a member of the Ten Master Clans. However, he lost to Tatsuya in the final match. Thus, Masaki only secured the 2nd place for Monolith Code event in Newcomers' Division.
Abilities
Masaki's Capacity Chart, clockwise. Top: Appearance (5), Top Right: Strength (5), Bottom Right: Martial Arts (5), Bottom: Intelligence (5), Bottom Left: Magic Practical Skills (5), Top Left: Inherent Magic (5).
Ichijou Masaki naturally fits into a leadership role and seems to exude the charismatic aura of a true leader. His abilities and strength are highly regarded and respected among his peers at Third High School to the point one can say he's viewed as the highest standard for them. This obviously made him one of the two aces of his school's team in the Nine Schools Competition.
Being such a renowned individual, his reputation extends beyond the scope of high school. He's even considered a renowned prodigy in the world of magic, where his presence, along with his friend, "Cardinal George", at the same school in the same cohort in the Nine School Competition is considered a coincidence bordering on criminal. For the two of them to team up during Monolith Code was already an invincible combination, at least for the Newcomers Division.
Born into the Ichijou Family, Masaki naturally specializes in medium to long range bombardment. Since he is a member of the Ichijou Family, using water vapors to initiate explosive attacks is the simplest of tricks for him. For a high-schooler, Masaki is a Magician who already possesses live combat experience. His strength and might both in defense and offense are overwhelming to the point where he can easily nullify very high caliber magic and defeat gifted Magicians without much effort. Masaki can endlessly release powerful, destructive magic from strong Magic Sequences without much trouble; a talent truly worth of praise from critics.
He is also a Magician adept at cyclical breathing. Masaki's talent at shortening the dead time between when one magic ends and another begins when continuously using the same magic is so great that his talent at excelling at this rivals Shiba Miyuki's.
Because Masaki hails from Third High School; a combat focused school, and his previous real life combat experience, he has a sharpened perception of any situation thrown at him and is able to gauge people's strength and Magical Power rather well. Combined with his gut feelings and natural instincts, Masaki can easily choose the right course of action and strategy in order to survive in combat and defeat his opponent in battle. Even though his knowledge and analytical abilities are more focused on combat and magic, Masaki is still knowledgeable with CADs and is able to analyze one accurately.
It was mentioned that Ichijou Masaki rivals an entire armored battalion's combat strength for point defense situations.