Great Dark War

The Black Beast, destroying a city.

The Great Dark War (暗黒大戦, Ankoku Taisen), also known as the First Great Magic War (第一次魔道大戦, Dai-ichiji Madō Taisen, localized as First War of Ars Magus), was an apocalyptic event spanning a decade and took place almost a century before the events of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. A monstrosity known as the Black Beast appeared in Japan on January 1, 2100, and its only goal was the complete annihilation of mankind. The Black Beast spread a substance known as "Magic Element" all over the world, as that was the only way the Black Beast could operate. The Black Beast’s power was overwhelming, and killed off more than half of the world’s population. Mankind tried to do everything they could to eliminate the magic element, thinking it would be easier and safer than fighting the Beast directly, but even that plan failed.

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One year preparation

For exactly one year, the Black Beast had disappeared. In this short time frame, humanity was able to recuperate and made and gathered many weapons for when the Beast would appear again. Eventually, the Six Heroes appeared and the situation took a turn. Konoe Ayatsuki Mercury of the Six Heroes passed her knowledge of sorcery, the mystic force of the universe, to mankind. Unfortunately, sorcery could not be used in its basest form by humans, as they were unable to manipulate and control it. Humans did a great deal of research into the subject and eventually developed something known as Magic Formula.

End of the Great Dark War

After one year of inactivity, the Black Beast resurfaced. Unfortunately, Magic Formula alone was not enough to defeat the Beast, so mankind created something more powerful, called Magic Formula Armament, which could be used to directly combat the Beast. After the humans figured out how to use Magic Formula and Magic Formula Weapons, they fought alongside the Six Heroes; the Black Beast was finally defeated in January 1, 2110.