Ciel, born Elesia, is a major character from Tsukihime. She made her debut in The Reapers' Game.
Canon[]
Ciel is a major character from the Tsukihime franchise, which, like Fate/stay night, takes place within the Type-Moon universe.
She is the ultimate trump card of the Burial Agency, a branch of the Church that specializes in killing demons rather than exorcising them. Ciel was born as the seventeenth incarnation of Michael Roa Valdamjong, a perpetually reincarnating vampire who took control of Ciel in her youth and forced her to massacre her home village. Later, the influence of Roa was dispelled when she was killed by Arcueid Brunestud. Though Ciel retained some of Roa's powers, including immortality, Roa's influence had otherwise left her completely. Afterward, she was approached by the Holy Church and tasked with working for their Burial Agency division.
Later, when it was discovered that Roa's next incarnation was residing within Misaki Town, Ciel was assigned to investigate on the Church's behalf.
Pre-Convergence[]
Before The Reapers' Game, the Mage's Association was in the middle of a panic as a result of the events of the Crossed Incident, the Gotham City Incident, and the Monokuma Incident, submitted by various figures between them and the Holy Church. After submitting the Monokuma Incident Report to the Association, Kirei Kotomine recommended that if they were going to start an investigative case, the job should be assigned to Ciel.
Taking up the case, Ciel began to investigate the case, scouring the world and tracking down leads for answers. However, in the middle of her search, she was suddenly attacked and killed by the Arch Demon himself. And just like that, before she knew it, she was participating in The Reapers' Game.
Plot Involvement[]
The Reapers' Game[]
Ciel as seen in her prologue.
Ciel was a fairly prominent figure in the Murder Game, actively participating in the Traitor votes and making relationships with the other participants, befriending the likes of Yuka Mochida and Marcus Wright, as well as developing a romantic relationship with Minato Arisato. Like everyone else in the event, she had lost her powers, and was only able to be empowered by various pins given during the game. She is blinded early on by acid, but manages to heal it somewhat to the point where she was able to make out lights, shadows, and silhouettes.
Roughly halfway through the event, Shiki Tohno appeared suddenly, intending to bring Ciel back to the world of the living, as she was needed for upcoming events involving the Arch Demon and a mysterious Fiamma of the Right, according to the will of the Earth, also known as the Counter Force.
Shortly before the climax and epilogue, Ciel asked Minato if he would come back to her world, to which he accepted.
As a result of the Game's Neutral End, Ciel was given the choice to replay the Reapers' Game if she wanted to return to her world with her entry fee. Taking the chance, as well as having Minato tag along to help her out, Ciel eventually returned to her world, where her powers reactivated and her healing factor mended her blindness completely.
After submitting the Reaper Incident Report to the Holy Church and Mage's Association, as well as announcing a temporary leave of absence from her duties as an Executor, Ciel walked downstairs and prepare to make lunch with Minato, who was waiting for her.
Illusion Breaker[]
She had come out of her vacation from the services of the Burial Agency sometime before the events of Illusion Breaker, though continued living her daily life with Minato Arisato.
Shortly after the Hound Dogs mounted an assault on the mansion of Rin Tohsaka, Ciel was be called up by Kirei Kotomine, claiming that Fuyuki City was in need of assistance from her, as it involved the Murder Games, drawing her attention.
She first appeared in the event during the clash at the school, intervening in the fight between Accelerator and Lancer, who was about to perform his Noble Phantasm technique that clashed with causality in order to pierce one's heart. Though it appeared that she had become immortal again, as she stated "having her heart destroyed was an unpleasant phenomenon," the cause of this is tentatively unknown.
Afterwards, she accompanied Rin Tohsaka, Archer, Motoharu Tsuchimikado, Frank Castle, and Accelerator back to the estate where they would discuss the nature of the phenomena.
Right Hand of the Crimson Moon[]
She is seen residing within the Tohsaka Residence, talking to Rin about how the Murder Game had now begun, realizing this with Frank Castle's sudden disappearance.
She plays a minor supporting role within the Murder Game, appearing in the second chapter when the participants would rest in the Fuyuki Church. She mentions that she was the one who was responsible for emptying out Fuyuki City, claiming to have used her Mystic Eyes of Whisper to convince every inhabitant within the city that a bad storm was about to inflict the city, and that they should evacuate immediately, though in reality, she had done so to prevent any civilian casualties from happening when Fiamma of the Right would appear.
When the magician appeared, using his Right Hand of the Crimson Moon to teleport everyone into a different world, he then proceeded to fight Ciel, allied alongside Archer and Lancer. They attempted to hold the magician off, but even with their combined efforts, Fiamma of the Right defeated them with relatively little effort, easily defeating Ciel and killing Archer and Lancer.
Ciel did not appear again until the final chapter, appearing alongside Rin Tohsaka and Erika Furudo as some of those who had been captured by Kirei Kotomine and using their bodies' life energy to fuel the Holy Grail in hopes of destroying the world and summoning the Avenger once again.
She appeared briefly within the aftermath of the event, being seen back home as she muses over whether or not she should have another vacation from work, while also thinking about what she should have for lunch, noting that after having a number of her energy absorbed, she needs to replenish that with as much nutrients as possible.
The Life of Shiki Tohno[]
Fourth Chapter - The Disappearance of Shiki Tohno[]
She makes a brief appearance within the chapter, breaking into the apartment of Arcueid Brunestud and inquiring on what the whereabouts of Shiki Tohno might be after he had made his departure from home abruptly. Arcueid reveals that she only knows as much as Ciel, which is very little, though she notes that she intends on sending Len, Shiki's own familiar, to track him down using her mystic connection to him, before asking her to leave.
Fifth Chapter - The Law of Shiki Tohno[]
It is mentioned in exposition that during this time period, Ciel is busy with her work as an Executor, hunting down a group of vampires known as the "Sons of Roa" running rampant in some places in her world, and thus, has little time for her day to day life with her boyfriend, Minato Arisato, as much as she regrets not being able to spend time with him. This is shown in the beginning, as she is unable to walk with Minato home after school, stating she has to leave on Church business.
She appears again in the ending of the chapter after hunting down some runaway vampires in the outskirts of Misaki Town, and is surprised to see Minato there, the young man having finished his business with Shiki Tohno and the spirit of Kouma Kishima, unbeknownst to Ciel, who decides to return home with Minato and spend time with him.
Character Relationships[]
- Shiki Tohno - The protagonist of Tsukihime who debuted in The Ties That Bind. The two of them became close friends during the events of Tsukihime when she posed as a student at his school while hunting down Roa. In The Reapers' Game, after Ciel had died, Shiki, with help from Arcueid, broke into the Murder Game and helped Ciel escape from the event.
- Minato Arisato - The protagonist of Persona 3who also made his debut in The Reapers' Game. The two of them were close, forming something of a romantic relationship. Though their connection was interrupted when Minato was temporarily murdered by the traitor Ryu Keiko, they managed to eventually reunite, where Ciel offered Minato the chance to come with her to her home world.
- Arcueid Brunestud - A major character from Tsukihime who also made her debut in The Reapers' Game. The two of them do not get along very well, as Arcueid is a powerful vampire, and Ciel, a member of the Church, does not take too kindly to vampires. On top of that, Ciel was once a previous incarnation of Roa and was personally killed by Arcueid as a result. Still, they tolerate each other as best as they can, as Arcueid does no damage to anything as long as she is with Shiki.
- Yuka Mochida - One of the protagonists of Corpse Partywho also debuted in The Reapers' Game. Minato was like an older brother figure to Yuka, so after he was murdered, Ciel took it upon herself to protect Yuka in his absence. However, their relationship turned sourly bitter and hostile when it was revealed that Yuka was one of the Traitors of the event.
- Kirei Kotomine - An antagonist from Fate/stay nightwho made his debut in Monokuma Rising. Though they didn't personally know each other very well, they are both esteemed Executors of the Church. Kotomine recommended her to investigate the anomaly of the Arch Demon after the events of the Monokuma Incident. In Right Hand of the Crimson Moon, Kotomine captured Ciel and attempt to use her body as a subject to offer unto the Holy Grail.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- To say that she loves curry would be a massive understatement.
- In The Reapers' Game, her price of admission was the memory of those she cared for, including Shiki Tohno.
- Amusingly enough, despite the substantial amount of circumstantial evidence present that suggested Ciel was one of the Traitors of The Reapers' Game, she was never voted off.
- She is mentioned by name in The Ties That Bind when Shiki Tohno mentions he has a fondness of girls with glasses.
- It is believed that she is the one who gave Archer his red coat when he was alive, though they have never met on-screen.