Witch

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Naming
English	Witch
Kanji	魔女
Romaji	Majo
Information
Habitat	Witches' Realm, various places on Earth
Real world information
Manga	Chapter 0.1
Anime	Episode 1

A Witch (魔女, Majo) are beings whom are manipulators of Magic and enjoy destruction.

Appearance

A Witch's soul

The appearance of a witch varies, though they generally look like human females. However, some witches can have an appearance based on distinct, animal-like qualities of their animal theme.

The soul of a witch is usually purple, and is shaped like a human soul. However, witches like Shaula Gorgon may show that this isn't always the case. The Soul Wavelength of a witch is also distinguishable, though this cannot be physically seen.

Racial Strife

Origin

Eight hundred years ago, the Witches' control in general was far more spread with them using their power to cause great destruction, especially among humans. However, the DWMA's efforts as well as the creation and usage of Demon Weapons to even the playing field by using their own power against them have caused the Witches to later lose the upper-hand for a long time and as a result, have made them shunned and resorted to being trapped in an isolated space: the Witches' Realm. The destruction from the Witches has caused a strife between both Humans and Witch-Kind alike that has lasted for over eight centuries.

Death the Kid himself stated that in reality, the racial feud is the result of the generational hatred from the Witches. The hatred, in addition, stems mostly from the older generation rather than the new generation of Witches.

Effect

The general population of Humans are extremely distrustful of Witches from their previous attempts of causing destruction centuries ago, credited them to be powerful, intimidating, and cunning. This not only applies to general humans, but even the ordinary members of DWMA's personnel seem to discriminate Witches. This distrustful nature causes Witches (such as Kim Diehl) to even avoid/hide their Witch heritage with Soul Protect. The only exceptions of these rule seem to apply to the higher up members of the DWMA (i.e Death Scythes), whom are aware of the history behind the Witch Order.

However, Witches in general from the strife do not hold neither both Humans (Demon Weapons included) and Gods of Death in high regard. General Witches harbor an immense hatred of Humans and Death Gods alike, attributing to the fact that they're unable to co-exist with one another due to their instinct for destruction. Under the Witch Order's laws, it's stated that being a Death God itself is a crime punishable with a million deaths. As explained by Tezca Tlipoca and Death himself, the usage of their own power and Witch souls against them also deepened their hatred as well as their control and power not only being taken away but force into isolation. Kim Diehl's comments also show that Witches have doubts a Death Gods's Judgement, being unaware that even Gods of Death (Death) themselves do not believe their powers to be completely infallible though their touch on order itself unwavering. Medusa Gorgon once claimed that blasphemy is the "job" of Witches.

After the battle on the Moon and the Clown Army in which marked the first time Humans and Witches banded together against a common threat, Death the Kid sought to improve relation between Witches and Humans alike.

Witch Hunts

Arachne's soul eaten by Soul Eater.

Occasionally, the souls of Witches are targeted by Death Weapon Meister Academy. This is a requirement to create a Death Scythe due to the fact that Demon Weapons are in an "incomplete" form without the Witch souls and because of that, it is needed for them to become "true demon weapons".

Specifically, the targeting of Witches isn't done indiscriminately and require an Execution Order from Death himself before prior hunting, in which case proof has to be presented. The responsibility of investigating Witches falls to DWMA Central Intelligence Agency and Death the Kid, who takes the place of his father in his stead due to his limited mobility.

Types of Witches

Witches are classified by their type and capability:

A Necromancer.

• Necromancer (死霊使い (ネクロマンサー), Nekuromansā): A Witch who specializes in reviving the dead as a Mummy or Evil Spirit. Only Samantha is a known Necromancer.
• Tanuki Witch (タヌキの魔女, Tanuki no Majo): Tanuki Witches are Witches whose themes are tanukis, Japanese raccoon dogs. Tanuki are known to be "Masters of Regeneration" and as such, Tanuki Witches are users of Regeneration Magic. These Witches are looked down upon by the Witch Order due to lacking the Pull of Magic. Kimial Diehl is the only known Tanuki Witch.

A High Level Witch's soul.

• High Level Witch (上級魔女, Jōkyū Majo): A powerful Witch who is recognized as "advanced" and is capable of contending with other, high caliber opponents.
• Short-Range Witch (近距離型魔女, Kinkyori-Gata Majo): A short-range witch is the type of Witch whose spells and specialty revolves around the usage of close combat and is known to be formidable. Only Medusa Gorgon is a known, confirmed Short-Range Witch.
• Little Witch (チビ魔女, Chibi Majo): A type of Witch who is young and inexperienced, thus still developing their magical power.

Groups

Throughout the world, there are various groups and clans consisting of Witches with each having different goals, ideologies, and even possess their own standards for society. Some of these groups either are exclusively Witch or have accepted Witches among their ranks.

Arachnophobia

Paraponera Clan

Witch Order

Medusa's Army

Witches in the East

Abilities

Although many Witches possess various unique traits and abilities, the majority share common abilities.

A Witch using Magic.

• Magic (魔法, Mahō) & Curses (呪い, Noroi): Witches are most renowned for their ability to manipulate the almost limitless energy known as Magic as well as utilize Curses, phrases in which uses magical power to inflict harm to a specific being.
• Transform (変身, Henshin): Many Witches possess the ability to transform into animals of their according theme (often employing Transformation Magic). However, this is not an ability all Witches share, such as Medusa Gorgon, who utilizes other means to enter animals.
• Magic Sense: Some Witches have shown proficiency in sensing the magical power within other beings possessing Magic.
• Longevity: Witches are far more "long-lived" then Humans, with many surpassing the century mark. Because of this, it's often difficult to gauge a Witch's actual age from her appearance. It seems that Witches age at a normal rate until a certain point in age before slowing down. Even Witches over 800 years old, such as Arachne, can retain a youthful appearance. Despite appearance, however, the effects of aging is still apparent on the body.

Weaknesses

Techniques originating from the Great Traditional Techniques of the Scythe-Meister, such as the Witch-Hunt, are moves tailored to kill Witches, especially the evil ones. When captured, Witches are also gagged to prevent the usage of spells, especially those who require chants or are already under Soul Protect. When forcing Witches to cooperate, the DWMA also employs the usage of a special Collar which is set to explode and kill the wearer should they try anything against the DWMA's wishes.

List of Witches

See also: Category:Witch and List of tertiary characters

Trivia

• In the Yen Press English translation, Tezca Tlipoca refers to a "Fifth Power," later revealed to be the witches. A fifth power, or "quintessence," may refer to the Fifth Element or the Aether, an element beyond the conventional four: air, fire, earth, and water. The quintessence also may refer to a hypothetical form of dark energy. Based on witches' closeness to dark magic and their operation outside of a normal world, Tezca's potentially unintentional comparison of witches to the Aether and Dark Energy is apt.
• Part of a duty of a Death God seems to include investigating Witch-related incidents. While Death himself was the individual who performed this task, it has since been delegated to Death the Kid.