Ultimate Antihero is a light novel series written by Riku Misora (author of Chivalry of a Failed Knight and High School Prodigies Have It Easy Even in Another World) and illustrated by Nardack. It was published by Kodansha from 2014 to 2016 for four volumes.
About a hundred years ago, Earth was attacked by demons, beings from an alternate dimension that could wield magical powers beyond humanity's ability to handle. As demons quickly proved to be immune to conventional weapons, humanity quickly found themselves losing, until a mysterious man entrusted to humanity his knowledge of sorcery in the form of a single book, the grimoire Liber Al vel Legis (the Book of the Law). Through the sacrifice of the lives and minds of many people, humanity managed to decipher a small part of the book and learned the secrets of magic, allowing them to fight back against demons.
Even so, the appearence of the Demon King class demon Typhon almost spelled doom for humanity as most of the world's countries were destroyed in a span of merely ten days. It was then that a young boy, 12-year-old Homura Kamishiro managed to completely decipher the Liber Legis and thus obtained the power to control Evil Gods, which allowed him to defeat Typhon. However, the few remaining governments feared the boy's overwhelming power, and branded him a traitor, forcing him to go on the run. The boy spent several years ostracized by most humans, but one day he suddenly received an invitation from one of his remaining acquaintances, asking him to come to Tokyo's Sorcery Academy.
This story provides examples of:
- After the End: By the time Typhon was defeated, there wasn't much left of civilization.
- Belief Makes You Stupid: All religious characters fall either under this, or Straw Hypocrite.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: The angels are even harder to reason with than demons. Since they're immortal and can recover from having their souls yanked out, they can't comprehend why humans would flee, fight back, or be enraged when they're being "saved" by having their souls yanked out, shoved to an alternate dimension, and their bodies taken over by mooks to attack their neighbors, friends and families!
- Child Prodigy: Homura was 12 when he completely deciphered the Liber Legis and defeated Typhon.
- Condescending Compassion: The angels. They believe that humans shouldn't be blamed for committing sin, because it's in their nature as incomplete, imperfect beings. Their compassion towards humanity is just that - empty pity dictated by a superiority complex.
- Conscription: Most of the New Tokyo Sorcery Academy students were drafted because they had at least the bare minimum magic power. As a result, many of them have low morale and don't want to risk themselves in combat.
- Crime of Self-Defense: Homura is hailed as a mass-murderer by the World Government because he fights off and kills assassins sent at him, on the scale of entire armies, because he had the cheek to protect humanity from demon invasion, "without sanction."
- The Dreaded: Most of humanity fears and hates Homura for his powers.
- Entitled Bastard: Everywhere. The upper echelons of this universe's Catholic Church honestly believe they can engage in any villainy they want because they will always be forgiven. The world governments expect and demand that Homura will rescue them, personally, from any demon attack despite exiling him and putting him on the run, including constantly sending assassins at him, for the "crime" of saving humanity from Typhon in the first place, and get mad that he calls them out on leaving his powers sealed while a Demon King class is bearing down on his home country, expecting him and his home nation to happily let themselves be wiped out. For the most heinous, the angels of God expect to be worshiped and revered by humanity, without exception, despite not only completely ignoring humanity's pleas for aid when the demons first appeared, leaving humanity to its own devices, but the angels start "saving" people by yanking out their souls and attempt to crush any resistance with Condescending Compassion.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Pope Innocentius XVII skirts the line between this trope and Psycho Supporter. On one hand, he created a body for the archangel Michael to inhabit so that Michael will grant him a place in ruling the world while forcing everyone to adopt his religion. On the other hand, he cries when Michael catches when when he's about to fall, which suggests that he truly appreciates Michael's mercy while still seeing him as a means to fulfill his ambitions.
- Faux Action Girl: Sumika, Chikori, Dorothy. Much is made of their skills as sorcerers, or of their potential, but they inevitably job in every fight they're in, especially Chikori. Though both Sumika and Chikori get better towards the end.
- God and Satan Are Both Jerks: The demons are trying to take over Earth and exterminate all humans; the angels are trying to forcibly "save" all of humanity and create a World of Silence.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Homura, to truly insane levels.
- Invading Refugees: Those demons that can wipe out entire continents and their underlings? They are refugees fleeing a genocidal war in their home dimension!
- Invincible Hero: Homura is so powerful that hardly any opponent even approaches the level of power needed to give him trouble. At just 30% of his full strength, he can already one-shot a Demon Lord class monster. It takes the reincarnated Archangel Michael himself to actually defeat him, and even then, it's implied Homura would have won if he wasn't too busy trying to rescue Shiori.
- Lonely at the Top: Homura, whose immense power causes him to become distanced from humanity.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: The United World Government plans to unite all the remaining nations under five larger ones for the sake of world peace, but it's really a power grab for the top five nations.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: No matter how strong or capable the pupils of Tokyo's Sorcery Academy are, most of the villains they face are simply too much for anyone... except Homura, who makes almost any opponent look like a joke.
- Perfect Poison: Gimel, the Dark Action Girl of the Special Missionaries, can inject her victims with a supernatural poison that causes a quick and excruciating death. She kills off Dorothy that way.
- Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Special Missionaries of the Holy Pact Church, a group of fanatics that act as the church's elite hit squad, composed of He, Gimel, Dalet, Aleph and Bet.
- Sinister Minister: All high-ranking members of the Holy Pact Church, with Alfaro being the first one seen.
- Summon Bigger Fish: Homura defeats the Demon King class monster Jambure by summoning Ithaqua.
- Ungrateful Bastard: As a "reward" for saving what remained of the world, Homura was branded as a traitor and basically exiled from society by the leaders of the United World Government, who also forced him to wear a seal that restrains him to a mere fraction of his full power. And that's only the beginning of how the hell they treat him.
