| Teito Klein is a former slave sent to attend the Barsburg Empire's military academy due to his ability to use Zaiphon, a type of supernatural power. The ability is rare, and thus highly prized. Teito is an amnesiac and doesn't remember anything of his origins—what he does learn of his past comes from his recurring and often traumatizing dreams. After a year at the academy, Teito takes the graduation exam; it is notoriously difficult, with a pass rate of one in twenty-five. Teito and his best (and only) friend, Mikage, pass easily. That night, in their shared dorm room, they each promise to help the other at any cost. The next day, Teito is delivering papers to a professor when he overhears his name. He stops to listen and realizes that the speaker, a man named Ayanami, is the man who killed his father in his dreams. Teito is found eavesdropping and tries to attack his father's murderer, but is quickly brought down by one of Ayanami's subordinates and sent to prison. Mikage comes to help him escape, only to find that Teito has managed to fight past the guards by himself. The two flee the building, but are cornered on a balcony. Teito pretends to hold Mikage hostage, threatening to kill him; and tries to escape when Ayanami sends a Zaiphon attack after him, which Teito manages to partly deflect. A Bishop in the nearby 7th District brings the injured Teito to the church to recuperate. Since Teito is still in chains, the Bishop, Frau, mistakes him for a slave and comments that if Teito had been a soldier in the Imperial army, he would have killed him immediately. Because of the law of "sanctuary", Teito may stay in the church without fear of the Empire or Ayanami. Teito carries the Eye of Michael, the powerful artifact that his home country, the Raggs Kingdom, was ransacked for. The tragic death of a loved one catapults him into his quest for revenge against the Barsburg Empire and knowledge about his past, while he becomes entangled with the Gods, Verloren, and the 7 Ghosts.
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| Teito Klein: The protagonist of the story. A former slave captured by the Barsburg Empire and considered to be the military academy's star pupil. His homeland is the former Kingdom of Raggs, and he was raised as an orphan in a church. It is later revealed that Teito had been entrusted with the Eye of Mikhail when the Empire invaded his home country, and he is the son of the former king of Raggs, thus, a prince.
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| Frau: A perverted Bishop, he saves Teito's life when Teito falls from his hawkzile. He is the member of the 07-Ghosts and is known as 'Zehel'. He finds Mikage (as a small pink dragon) for Teito and accidentally becomes Teito's 'Master' when he attempts to remove Teito's slave collar, invoking a blood contract. This collar gives Frau the ability to use three commands on Teito: bind, sleep and pain. For all his teasing, Frau also keeps Teito's spirits up with impromptu pep-talks. Because of this, Teito sometimes makes associations between Frau and his late 'Father'. His relation with Ayanami is as of yet unknown. Frau is the only Ghost who can wield Ayanami's scythe.
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| Mikage: Teito's best friend, Mikage comes from a family of stewards. Despite the fact that his closeness with Teito makes him a target of ill will, he remains a bright and cheerful person, sticking with Teito even if others make fun of him. Their relationship as friends involves a lot of Mikage teasing Teito about his short stature, and Teito beating him up in retaliation. Even so, they are still very close, promising each other that they will die together and will always be "the best of friends". After his death, Teito still finds it hard to go on without his best friend. Because of him, Teito begins his quest to all seven "Houses of God" in order to receive the 'cursed tickets', which will enable him to travel to the land of souls and trade his life for Mikage's, discovering more about his forgotten past and about the Seven Ghosts in the process. Later, Mikage becomes reincarnated as a small pink dragon because he wished to protect Teito, no matter what form.
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| Castor: Another bishop, he convinces Teito to take the examination to enter the priesthood. The training he puts Teito through is vigorous and often involves his 'dolls', life-sized puppets he controls with Zaiphon. One of the 07-Ghosts, he is 'Fest'. His name used to be Xing-lu, and he was the thirteenth head of the family in a House of God. His father often ignored him and he felt neglected, so Castor spent most of his time inside his room making replica dolls of his mother, who "was the only allowed to spoil him". He was so talented, that he was widely recognized as a genius.
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| Labrador: A bishop whose hobby is gardening, he gives Teito a flower of protection at the start of the manga which later saves his life during an encounter with a Kor. He also gives Teito a drink made from sweet flowers to heal his 'wounds of the heart'. During battles, he is able to use flowers and vines as weapons. An omake has confirmed that he is a Ghost, known as 'Profe'.
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| Hakuren Oak: Teito's roommate at the church and, at first, his self-proclaimed rival for the priesthood exam. They first meet soon after Mikage's death and Hakuren is walking by Teito in the church. Teito mistakes him for Mikage since they look somewhat similar, but upon looking closer, realizes it is someone else. Upon seeing that Teito is training to become a bishop a well, he states that Teito is now his rival. Teito is thinking that there is something about Hakuren that is a bit familiar to him until Hakuren asks Teito whether middle school children were starting to take the exam as well. Teito suddenly realizes that Hakuren sounds a lot like Shuuri Oak, his tormentor from the military academy.
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| Ayanami: The main antagonist. He is the man who killed Teito's 'Father' and seeks the Eye of Mikhail, though he seems to also be searching for 'Zehel'. His relationship with the 07-Ghosts is unknown, but he seems to be working for Verloren. It has been revealed that Ayanami is the owner of Frau's scythe; however, how his scythe came into Frau's possession is still unknown. He is a cold and merciless character, and will not hesitate to kill someone without remorse. The sometimes crazy antics of his subordinates annoy him to no end. He is very dedicated to his country. His cruelty really shows when he holds Mikage in for questioning after Teito's escape; he gives Mikage the choice between telling him where Teito went or he would kill his family. He then possesses Mikage's soul and when Mikage finally finds Teito, takes over his body and forces him to attack Teito. In the end, Teito and Frau are forced to kill Mikage, which takes its toll on Teito emotionally. Ayanami later states that it was necessary to kill Mikage in front of Teito's very own eyes so that Teito would come after Ayanami in revenge.
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| Mikhail: A god that possesses Teito's body through the Eye of Mikhail. When in control of Teito's body, Teito's irises become red and his pupils become slits. He is very fond of Teito, and is put out by the slave collar that limits his strength. Though extremely powerful, he tends to act like a petulant child and often makes undignified faces when talking with the Bishops. Later in the series, the Eye of Michael is stolen.
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