Trumpets of the Apocalypse

The Trumpets of the Apocalypse refers to a small number of seraphs that have appeared at different points throughout the Seraph of the End series. They became all the more notable when it transpired that there were other seraphs in existence, where those in possession of a trumpet seem in fact a minority. While it is unclear if it is the same individual seraphs who are capable of using trumpets, or if the trumpets are being passed to different ones, they all share destructive intents in any case and only a small number of them have appeared at any one time.

Background
During the prehistory of Earth, which was one of a number of Satellite Kingdoms there were no trumpet armed seraphs seen within the civilization there. Instead, they appeared in Space to attack a homunculus that was darkening the light connected to the Tower of Babel. These seraphs used a collective beam of light against Sika Madu for the sin in their view of resurrection.

Apparently acting under God's direction, they are willing to attack other seraphs including ones able to assume a human form. The Seraphs who could use trumpets joined a humanoid angel on the surface of Earth having murdered all the seraphs on the planet. Additionally, they had bound the seraphs' souls to remain there. They departed to return to paradise where God was said to await.

Perhaps due to what may very well be a higher rank, it may be the case it is a specific group of seraphs that were involved in seraph experiments of the present day. When conscious, the seraphs make no indication that they are constrained within a human body but act how they would.

Generally, where they pay no mind to vampires and are not too concerned with demons, seraphs when active are extremely hostile to humans and seek their destruction without delay, a trait they share with Horsemen of the Apocalypse which some are able to generate. The seraph humans speak in archaic language and have no recollection of their human identities.

First Trumpet
No information.

Second Trumpet
By using a certain substance added to his cursed gear stimulants, Guren unleashes the seraph characteristics within Yūichirō Hyakuya for a few minutes during the battle at Shinjuku. When the stimulant takes affect, Yu cries out and loses his mind as he undergoes a painful transformation. His left eye turns dark and bleeds while a massive black wing-like structure sprouts from his upper right shoulder. Although extremely powerful, Yu goes berserk and attempts to kill any human nearby. He displays no interest in vampires and recognizes no one as he mutters about killing sinners.

After ingesting three of the standard Japanese Imperial Demon Army supplements, Yu's internal organs rupture, including his heart. However, the power of the seraphs prevents Yu from dying. Asuramaru cautions him that angels can be far nastier than demons. After this event, Yu loses more of his humanity and is implied to become proportionally more seraph-like in the process.

During the battle at the airport in Nagoya, Yu becomes desperate after Guren succumbs to possession and Mirai transforms into the Fifth Trumpet to purge humanity. After fainting mid-sentence from the severe injuries Guren gives him, Yu acquires the trumpet within his mind and disregards Asuramaru's warning that this will erase the remainder of his humanity.

Screaming, Yu becomes surrounded by a pillar of fire upon his transformation. Where two irregular black wings are formed, Yu's sclera also become dark. Flying freely in this form, Yu curses the tainted humans and threatens to turn them into "pillars of salt." Yu easily summons and manipulates vast quantities of salt at will; for example, in the anime he was seen transforming a large volume of salt into a spear. After appearing, Yu attacks the demon Abaddon and disrupts its manifestation.

One Demon Army soldier refers to the second trumpet as the "King of Salt". Once the angel turns his attention to the humans, Asuramaru convinces Yu to become a full demon while Guren encourages the action from below. Horns appear, and Yu uses Asuramaru's blade to stab himself through the chest after he screams about saving his family.

In order to prepare for the battle against Ky Luc, time is used when Guren trains Yu to control his seraph by making the presence within Yu go berserk repeatedly. Three days later, when fighting the fifth progenitor, Yu becomes a partial seraph again, but now has fangs due to Asuramaru's influence. On account of his seraph powers, Yu is able to regenerate his chest that was essentially blown out.

Following the battle, Yu is seen in his mind kneeling as he recovers from the strain of the seraph power. Commenting on Yu's clawed hand holding the angel's trumpet, Asuramaru revealed it was the result of the substances needed to keep the seraph under control. He also states that Yu's body is still being taken over by a demon.

It is shown Yu had seraph genes ever since the dark ages of Greece. As a child, Yu as a seraph had white feathered wings since there was no demon to affect them. He first displayed the murderous streak towards humans though not Sika Madu. It was to the extent that Yu in this state proceeded to sever his own arm in order to reach a human. Capable of flight, Yu would consider how all humans needed to die. It appeared that these seraph traits were being moulded by the influence of a black sun.

Third Trumpet
No information.

Fourth Trumpet
No information.

Fifth Trumpet
On the way to Nagoya, Kureto Hīragi has Mirai Kimizuki injected with chemicals to force her to transform. She screams and begs for death until two pairs of white feathered wings sprout from her back.

At the point in time it would transpire that Kureto is planning to control an angel, which no one has ever successfully done before. According to Mahiru-no-Yo (who is possessing Guren at the moment), "blood is needed to control the angel." During the Nagoya Airport experiment, Kureto, along with Guren, and Mahiru-no-Yo sacrifice many humans, vampires, and demons to bind Mirai and use their blood to control her after using Abaddon to possess her. This appears to be successful, but the Second Trumpet awakens and destroys Abaddon's manifestation. The Fifth Trumpet is apparently sealed to leave Mirai unconscious.

Three months later, Mirai herself is still under Kureto's control as she is used to destroy the underground vampire city of Sanguinem in a major victory for humanity. Also later dispatched to Shibuya, the Fifth Trumpet is kept at a distance while Kureto sets about overthrowing his father Tenri Hīragi. With Abaddon above, the Fifth Trumpet adheres to the command to fire at a barrier Aoi Sangū set up, where the emission successfully makes contact with Tenri to secure victory.

Ordered to attack Shikama Dōji when he appeared, the Fifth Trumpet and Abaddon prepared their attack, before immediately complying with the First's command to stop. The seraph experiment is referred to as Shikama Doji's who voices shock that it was thought that could damage him. Mirai then ends up with a single pair of wings after the appearance of Shikama Dōji.

When Shibuya comes under attack by the Hyakuya Sect, the Fifth Trumpet's wings appear out of Mirai, yet is motionless in between Kimizuki, also Saitō and the First who is possessing Shinoa Hīragi's body. Carried away, Mirai would be unconscious where the Fifth Trumpet would not react to her being stabbed by Guren. With that done, a Sinful Key emerged from Mirai's body.

Sixth Trumpet
The unnamed Sixth Trumpet is introduced imprisoned inside a magical barrier within the underground laboratory of Guren's former mansion in the Aichi Prefecture. Guren claims that the Sixth Trumpet is one of Yu's comrades, and is identified as male.

As with the Fifth Trumpet, the Sixth Trumpet has two pairs of white feathered wings. He has the power to summon Horsemen of the Apocalypse to the world, as Guren reveals to Yu and Mikaela Hyakuya that he has been summoning them onto this world for the past eight years. The Horsemen can be fired as projectiles from the youth's hands that will form into the monsters, and also emerge at seemingly random locations across the vast area of a forest.

When asked by Yu if he has been crying for all these years, the Sixth Trumpet avoids the subject and questions Yu in turn, "Why won't you destroy this world?" Concluding that Yu is not fit to be an angel, the Sixth Trumpet attempts to kill him so that a new King of Salt shall be born. Summoning Horsemen to attack Yu and everyone, with the chains restraining him gone, the seraph takes the fight to the sky.

In an exchange between Yu and Asuramaru during the fight, it is revealed that the Sixth Trumpet has a demon inside of him. Eventually, the Sixth Trumpet gets pinned down by Yu with his trumpet knocked away by Mika, for Kimizuki to inject him with a pacifying substance. Consequently, the youth floats downwards for the first seen at that time cross shaped dagger to fly out of his chest. The youth then plummets to the ground as his wings dissolve before being caught by Kimizuki, where he now appeared as a normal human. With the Sixth Trumpet sealed, this also puts an end to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse across the entire world which vanish from it.

Seventh Trumpet
No information.

Taboo
The trumpet using seraphs target those who break taboos. This includes creating life, to prolonging it should disease afflict someone, and resurrecting the dead. The punishment is immediate, where seraphs will announce that it is being administered.

For the present times with knowledge having never been known by them, according to Ferid Bathory, the experiment "Seraph of the End" is actually an experiment to revive the dead. According to vampire belief, the humans committed a taboo, currently believed to be reviving the dead, which triggers the appearance of an angel of destruction. This is the reason the vampires conquered the world from underground and crushed any organizations working on that experiment. However, the Demon Army has since learned how to control these angels for themselves.

Ferid mentions that Guren completed the experiment and triggered the Apocalypse when he revived his deceased friends, Shinya Hīragi, along with Mito Jūjō, then Norito Goshi, with Shigure Yukimi, and Sayuri Hanayori without their knowledge. This experiment caused the virus that killed off most of the adult population. The five revived individuals appear to have no knowledge of dying and have continued to age and grow since then. At first it was uncertain whether Ferid was telling the truth or not, until he confirms Guren's act.

It is gathered that in breaking a taboo, such as reviving the dead, then the seraph of the end is the weapon that controls and directs the divine retribution. The idea of controlling seraphs to break the taboo with a price not addressed, Guren affirms it is not nearly so convenient and there is a stupidly massive price. Resurrecting the dead is a curse, and if Kimizuki, along with Yoichi, then Yu and Mika want to bring their families back, then they will wind up cursed like Guren too.

Abilities
Large scale and extremely powerful abilities were available to these seraphs. Given photon based light was the source of a seraph's power it is likely this that they could combine into a sun-like orb which could then blast lightning all the way down to the surface of Earth. Tones from the trumpets themselves could generate Horsemen of the Apocalypse.