Sakae Ichinose

Sakae Ichinose (一瀬栄) was Guren Ichinose's father. He appeared in the Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen light novel series as a minor character and the head of the Ichinose branch family.

Appearance
Sakae Ichinose was an average man with dark hair. He aged drastically while under Hīragi captivity.

He wore traditional Japanese clothing which consists of a haori over a light colored kimono with a dark kosode underneath. Along with this, he wore darkish hakama.

Personality
Sakae was submissive to the Hīragi Family and endured their abuse. He loved his son dearly and cared for his son's safety.

History
Twenty-five years before the Catastrophe, Sakae attended First Shibuya High School. The Hīragis wore him down until he was completely submissive to them.

At some point of his life, Sakae married his future wife, and later, the couple had a son, Guren.

Events of 2002
Guren remembers how on the day he had last seen Mahiru, he came home bloody and bruised as he was beaten by men from the Hīragi family who came to get Mahiru. He remembers the look of sorrow on his father's face and how he hugged Guren. However, after that, he went to the Hīragi compound to apologize.

Events of 2012
After Guren's interrogation, Kureto mentions to him that his father had come to the Hīragi compound to ask that Guren be let go. They took him into custody and questioned him and he told them everything that Guren did such as receiving an invitation from the Thousand Nights but not coming to an decision and that this war started while he was considering his answer. He also tells Guren that his father is very weak as he broke down and talked five hours before he did but then his heart gave out in the end. He assures Guren that his father isn't dead as they revived him and sent him home.

Several days later, Guren calls him while he's playing hooky. He asks if Sakae if he's okay after what happened yesterday and he says that he fine. Moving on from that, he says that he needs to tell Guren something important.

He tells him that during the six o'clock news, a story is going to break and it's something that the Thousand Nights have been trying to squash. While on the phone, Guren watches the news and it shows the story: the animals at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo have been killed by an unknown suspect or suspects. Sakae says it's being told that someone spread poison throughout the zoo and supposedly as the poison might still be there, the authorities have sealed everything within a half-mile radius. When Guren asks why this is important, Sakae says that that the story actually broke in the middle of the night, at around two in the morning but, the Thousand Nights have been keeping it under wraps.

Guren asks him if he wants him (Guren) to figure out why but Sakae says that's up to him as he figured this would be of interest to Guren. He becomes silent for a moment before telling Guren to not do anything too risky as it won't do anyone good if he get's himself killed. He adds that he's sure that Guren will do be fine since to him, Guren is smarter that him. Guren jokingly answers that if he was that smart, he wouldn't be caring about gaining more power. Guren says that he has to go but he'll visit him soon before hanging up.

Later, Shinya contacts Sakae. In exchange for saving Guren, Sakae says he will hand over the Ichinose’s research to the Hīragi and will accept punishment for allowing forbidden research.

Sakae is held hostage with imposing execution.

The Hīragi family orders Sakae's execution. Kureto gives Guren permission to see Sakae, and Guren apologizes for being unable to save him. He blames himself. Sakae says it is not his fault and tells him not to cry. He tells Guren he is proud of him. As soldiers take Sakae away for execution, Guren screams and cries. Sakae calmly states that this is their final goodbye, so they should part with a smile. Before Sakae was executed, Tenri had him dance naked in front of him and all the clan heads, which he did while maintaining a smile, before he was then beheaded.

Natural abilities
Although he should be strong, he acts weak in front of the Hīragi family.

Magic and Spells
He should know magic and spells, but he is never shown using them.

Book 1
"Please forgive your old man for being so powerless…"

- Sakae to a young Guren, following Guren's brutal beating by the Hiragis.

Book 2
"Guren? Don’t do anything too risky. It won’t do anyone any good if you go and get yourself killed. Power and influence are all meaningless if you’re dead."

- Sakae to Guren.

Book 4
"I’ll give you the information… And I’ll suffer the consequences for allowing research into forbidden magic. Just save my son—"

- Sakae to Shinya.

Book 5
"You don’t need to worry about me. Everything’s fine."

- On a phone call to Guren two nights before his execution will be confirmed.

"Indeed. And I wanted to hear my darling son’s voice. It doesn’t matter how old you get, I always think of you as my little boy."

- Sakae to Guren.

"I am [weak]… I couldn’t even refuse to make this phone call. I’m still getting in your way, right to the end…"

- Sakae to Guren.

Book 6
"Cake? I’m afraid that won’t do. You’re under a strict diet. If you’re going to keep growing stronger, you can’t go around eating stuff like cake."

- Sakae to five-year-old Guren.

"They’ll kill you if you lie to them, Guren. The Hiragis don’t show mercy."

- Sakae to five-year-old Guren.

"You’re stronger than I am, Guren, so as long as you listen to your heart, I know you’ll get closer to doing the right thing than I ever could."

- Sakae to five-year-old Guren.

"You did well. It’s made me very happy, to be blessed with a son like you."

- Sakae to Guren.

"But you’ll remain. I may die, but as of today you’ll become the leader of the Ichinose Clan. No one in the order will oppose you. That’s enough for me to rest content."

- Sakae to Guren before his execution.

"This is our last moment together. Let’s part with smiles on our faces."

- Sakae to Guren prior to the execution.

"Guren. Thank you. Thank you for being born as my son."

- Sakae to Guren prior to the execution.

Trivia

 * Ichinose 「一瀬」 means "one rapid."