Byandy Empire

The Byandy Empire was a prominent state in the Other World that abruptly collapsed a hundred years prior to Corpse God's reincarnation on Earth.

Emblem
The imperial crest, as redesigned by Emperor Framrodia Byandiraz, features a crown, a scepter, and a crisscrossed sword and bayonet in its design. A highly simplified albeit still recognizable version of this crest has somehow 'bled' into Our World, wherein the crown, scepter, sword, and bayonet have all been reduced to thin lines. Appearances of this simplified symbol on Earth include multiple hand-drawn renditions by Miyabi Hosorogi, an inscription of the symbol on parchment scrap allegedly made out of human skin, and a paper copy owned by the Grocer.

At a certain point after the Corpse God's reincarnation in Shinjuku, Tena Sorimura paints an alternate version of the simplified symbol on the sides of multiple dirigibles and deploys the dirigible fleet over the city; his alteration slashes a single horizontal line through the sword and bayonet's junction. Since he broadcasts the event online, his altered version of the simplified symbol is publicized for all to see.

History
Byandy Empire was at least two hundred years old when a young Framrodia ascended the throne following his father's death. At the time of the imperial prince's ascendancy, the Empire was ranked third among the countries of its continent in terms of landmass; however, it excelled above all the rest in terms of population size, military force, and technological strength. Prior to the fall of the Empire, its rulers had succeeded in unifying the Byandy Peninsula.

One of Framrodia's first acts was to redesign the nation's imperial emblem. During Framrodia's reign, the Empire either continued or instigated military conflicts—though it was settling a clash with troops from the Kingdom of Nyanild just before the collapse. A far more precipitous event would take place within the purlieu of the capital: the emperor's assassination at the hands of his close friend and fourth-ranked imperial court sorcerer Corpse God, who had been physically manipulated by an enemy necromancer. Upon manifesting as a spirit, Framrodia counseled his grief-stricken friend and promised to advocate for him in court, acting as accomplice to his own murder. Despite Framrodia's efforts, the Corpse God was dubbed 'the Emperor Killer'.

Many details of the collapse remaining poorly understood. It is known that the Empire crumbled suddenly and swiftly over a shockingly short span of one year. Reports of the Empire's annexed principalities having purportedly rebelled had reached the capital by the time an enormous sinkhole formed within it and underneath the feet of the entire imperial army; all units fell to their doom save for the Imperial Gorgeous Unit, which the Homewrecker Dragon Malfy carried to safety out of love for the Unit's General Daryl. Shouts for "the imperial prince and Her Majesty" were heard within palace walls during this event, suggesting that Framrodia had a successor.

Post-collapse, the peninsula that Byandy Empire had dominated was said to have been overran by demons, spirits, ghouls, and other monstrous inhabitants of malevolent and dangerous repute. What mountain ranges border the peninsula act as natural barricades between it and the rest of the continent's countries, which have all forbidden their citizens from entering the wasteland.

Location
The Empire was centralized on Byandy Peninsula of the continent of Bol, with its capital said to be located at the peninsula's far west end. To the (north)east, a mountain range lining the peninsula served as a natural border between the Empire and the hostile Kingdom of Nyanild; the continent's tallest mountain chain resides far to the peninsula's north. Since the collapse, the peninsula has become known as the Abandoned Peninsula.

Governance
Byandy Empire was ruled by emperors who may have ascended to the throne on a hereditary basis, though whether hereditary succession was typical is unclear. Children could ascend the throne upon their father's death, though how much power child emperors wielded in practice (i.e. whether or not someone else, such as a surviving mother, could act as a de facto regent) is currently indeterminable.

A chancellor by the name of Leuf Vellize served the court until the Empire's demise. She was rumored to have opened a sealed door in an attempt to save the world, only to instead unleash a 'curse' cast by the assassinated emperor; regardless of those rumors' truthfulness or falseness, Leuf was verifiably killed in office.

Imperial Court Sorcerers
At least seven sorcerers held official positions at the imperial court; those who were active at the time of the Empire's collapse are listed below. As these sorcerers also belonged to the imperial army, they could and were frequently ordered to serve on Byandy's battlefields; meanwhile, the first-ranked sorcerer otherwise acted as the head of the group. Induction into the imperial court's lineup seems to have been based at minimum on ability and availability, with sorcerer's pupils likely to replace their masters should their master retire or otherwise become unavailable.

Magic resources would not have been a concern for these sorcerers nor Byandy's citizenship, as jewels—known as "magic-storing stones"—were so common and cheap that even children could purchase them within the Empire's jurisdiction. Diamonds and sapphires were especially dense magic-storing stones. Magic circuits were advertised as means to improve one's life.

That necromancers could and did serve as court sorcerers suggests the imperial governance did not endorse the Geldwood faith, which then and now shuns necromancy and its practitioners. The neighboring Kingdom of Nyanild's designation of Geldwood as its official religion may have contributed to its enmity with the Empire.

Military
Byandy Empire's imperial army was the mightiest military force on the continent at the height of the Empire's power, and the Imperial Gorgeous Unit the army's strongest internal unit. The Corpse God has remarked that the Imperial Gorgeous Unit was one of the few military forces of the Other World that would have been able to withstand the military forces of Earth.

The army had an organized internal bureaucracy down to the unit level. For instance, the Imperial Gorgeous Unit had an internal assessment bureau tasked with investigating and mitigating internal corruption; the vice-captain of this bureau was Jangrad Dimorigh XIV.

Trivia

 * 'Byandy' may be a shortening of the empire's full name, as Corpse God refers to it as "the empire of Byady#rig" in Chapter 3. The English translation's spelling 'Byady#rig' demonstrates Corpse God cannot properly pronounce the actual name in Japanese.