The Only Mages in the World

is the first episode of GRANBELM.

Synopsis
Returning to school on the night of a full moon, Mangetsu Kohinata is unwittingly drawn into the GRANBELM, a tournament between mages fought with robot dolls called ARMANOX.

Plot
While preparing extra lunches for her classmates, Mangetsu Kohinata realizes she left one of the boxes at school. Leaving to retrieve it, she finds herself in the school at night, staring at the moon. After hearing indistinct whispering, a large robot suddenly appears outside the window and shatters it, causing her to fall down.

Outside, in a drastically changed landscape, Anna Fugo orders her servants, Suishou Hakamada and Rosa, to deal with Mangetsu while she battles Shingetsu Ernesta Fukami. While Mangetsu is chased through the building by the robots outside, she is contacted by another girl who asks which mage she is. Mangetsu doesn't understand and the girls asks her to try to avoid capture until she arrives.

After fending off Anna and intimidating Rosa into retreating, she is hit by a long range beam attack while protecting Mangetsu. The one who fired that beam, Nene Rin, complains to her sisters that she didn't meet the mark. Meanwhile, Mangetsu, who was protected by the girl, meets her outside of her ARMANOX. The first thing she asks is what Mangetsu's box is. Whilst eating the lunch, she she explains the situation to her: They are in an illusionary world, created by Magiaconatus. They will return to their own world shortly. She asks Mangetsu which mage's descendant she is and asks her where her ARMANOX is. When the girl tries to swallow the pickled plum, Mangetsu realises she is from another country, and she introduces herself: Shingetsu Ernesta Fukami. To Mangetsu's surprise and delight, they are both named after the Moon.

Elsewhere, Anna laments her ARMANOX's slow rate of recovery. Further still, a silver haired girl stands in silence, gazing at Magiaconatus.

Mangetsu is still clueless, so the girl fills her in: Long ago, magic was used as a weapon by humans, and was sealed away by the 7 most powerful mages in the world. That seal is Magiaconatus, which has created the world in which they are now standing. For over a milennia, descendents of mages have battled in the GRANBELM, a tournament to determine the one true mage, the 'Princeps'.

While gazing at the manifestation of Magiaconatus, Mangetsu again hears the indistinct whispers. Her reverie is broken by CREST ANTHURIUM emerging from beneath the rubble. Rosa, seeing defeating the damaged VIOLA KATZE as an opportunity to one-up her superior, Anna, attacks while Shingetsu urges Mangetsu to run away. Mangetsu runs, but finds herself drawn to Magiaconatus, which calls out to her, producing WHITE LILY and transforming Mangetsu. She finds herself inside the ARMANOX but she can barely move it. Rosa opportunistically summons her Windlings to attack the immobile mecha. Shingetsu tells her the ARMANOX is her heart given form, and that to use it, she needs to envision how she wants it to move. Mangetsu repeats this advice to herself, while Rosa charges her together with her familiars. In a sudden burst of power, Mangetsu manages to destroy both the Windlings and CREST ANTHURIUM after successfully envisioning her attack. Its scraps are absorbed by Magiaconatus before their eyes, bathing the world in a crimson glow.

Characters

 * Mangetsu Kohinata
 * Kibō Kohinata
 * Anna Fugo
 * Rosa
 * Suishou Hakamada
 * Nene Rin
 * Nana Rin
 * Mimi Rin
 * Kuon Tsuchimikado

Featured ARMANOX

 * ACONITE GRIS
 * VIOLA KATZE
 * CREST ANTHURIUM
 * DROSELA NOCTURNE
 * WHITE LILY