Phantasmal Species

Phantasmal Species (幻想種) is the common term used to refer to used to refer to all non-human creatures that are found in legends. Rather than a classification for a separate ranking for beasts, it encompasses everything from demi-humans, such as fairies and giants, to monsters, such as dragons and oni. They differ from Demons, as they are active creatures rather than passive existences. Similarly to how magi gain power through the accumulation of knowledge, those of the Phantasm Races become stronger through the accumulation of time. Modern Magecraft is the sum of five hundred years of study, while the Phantasm Races date back to the Age of Gods. Magi that only have a mystical lineage that spans five hundred years cannot hope to match or reproduce mysteries that have accumulated thousands of years and have an existence that is on par with the five modern Magics. They embody mysteries simply by existing and it is said to be a miracle if one is simply observed.

Magical Beasts
Many of the Phantasmal Species fall into the category of Magical Beasts (魔獣), which is the common denomination for all creatures that do not fit in the ordinary biological classification for living beings and those that do not fall within the normal ecosystem. The term "beast" is a thaumaturgical term, and it does not necessarily mean quadrupedal mammals. They are true deviations from biology that cannot be explained by immature research or sudden mutations. They can be ranked into three categories, which change as the creatures age and increase in power towards becoming higher existences. The lowest rank is Monstrous Beasts, which then change into Phantasmal Beasts, and finally become classified as Divine Beasts.

Phantasmal Beasts of the Millennium-Rank and Divine Beasts are equal to Magic, making them unable to even be harmed by mysteries on the level of magecraft. Rider's Pegasus, which has grown from a Monstrous Beast to a Phantasmal Beast, has even greater resistance than Saber, who can easily negate Caster's magecraft from the Age of Gods. The longer the creatures live, the further away they grow from the rest of the world. Out of the current creatures that still exist in the present era, only those whose ages are measured in centuries, rather than millennia, still remain. Most remaining Magical Beasts are Chimeras formed from mixing different species that have existed since the Age of Gods. They live on currently undeveloped lands that cannot be reached by mankind. Those on the level of Phantasmal Beasts that existed in the past have almost all migrated to a different world presented as the “Inside of the World”. Divine Beasts such as Moby Dick and Typhon are more on the level of "super weapons" than actual living creatures. Members of the The Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, Primate Murder, a white dog born with the sole purpose of killing humans, and Forest of Einnashe, a sentient forest that matured to the level of a phantasm specie by absorbing the blood of a Dead Apostle, also count among the Magical Beasts.

Blood-sucking species
Blood-sucking species (吸血種) is the general term for creatures that drink the blood of others. This was originally synonymous with Vampires, but it has changed due to the Church's involvement. While both Dead Apostles and True Ancestors are considered blood-sucking creatures like the blood drinking animals of South America or disembodied vampiric heads from the continent, the Church only sees those they classify as vampires as enemies. They will actively hunt vampires, but do not care about other members of the blood-sucking species. Due to the large number of blood-sucking creatures found all over the world, this term is is preferred when referring to them. People like Akiha are classified as members of the blood-sucking species.

Blood Worms
Blood Worms (吸血虫) are the creatures that have come to make up the body of Matou Zouken in his attempt to prolong his life. His existence is essentially a conglomerate of Crest Worms with a special appetite for human flesh and blood that combine themselves to take a human form. Despite the blood-sucking habits, he is not considered to be an actual vampire that the Church would hunt.

Chimera
Chimera (キメラ) are creatures of the Monstrous Beast rank that make up the majority of the Magical Beasts still left within the world. They are formed from mixing different species that have existed since the Age of Gods, and they live on currently undeveloped lands that cannot be reached by mankind.

Divine Bull
Divine Bulls (神牛) are creatures of the Divine Beast rank that were offerings to Zeus. After being claimed by Rider, they became part of the Noble Phantasm Gordius Wheel.

Dragon Kind
Dragon Kind (竜種) are considered the pinnacle of the Phantasmal Species. They have members in all three classes of Magical Beasts, and they are considered to be the greatest species within each corresponding class. Due to there being Monstrous, Phantasmal, and Divine class dragons, they have been involved with mankind since before the Age of Gods, and left many legends in the field of thaumaturgy due to having freely intermixed with humans in the past. Dragons are creatures that generate prana merely by breathing, and they possess traits from other types of monsters. Nrvnqsr Chaos has a low ranking dragon within his Reality Marble, and a dragon was shown in Realta Nua as a representation of Saber's Magic Circuits. There is a legend in Fuyuki about a dragon that lived in the Miongawa river and taught martial arts to the monks of Ryuudouji as a hobby.

Gorgon
The Gorgon (ゴルゴン) is Medusa's incarnation as the legendary one-eyed man-eating monster after she started to kill and devour humans. Becoming an icon of terror, her appearance was distorted, and as wishes initially formed the Gorgon sisters, they also incarnated her into the atrocious Gorgon of legend. Even as a Heroic Spirit and Divine Spirit, she still has the rank of "Monster ∙ Magical Beast", making her existence that of “an anti-hero closer to a monster.” As a result, the rank of her Divinity decreased to the lowest value of E-. As compensation, she received the ability of Monsters and Magical Beasts, Monstrous Strength, which would bring her closer to the form of the Gorgon the more it was used. After her death, her role as a Gorgon would be decreasing mankind's numbers.

Pegasus
Pegasus (天馬) are winged horses that usually are part of the Monstrous Beast rank. They are docile creatures that do not like to fight. The Pegasus summoned by Rider is a special case that has advanced to the Phantasmal Beast rank due to its age. It has been alive since the Age of Gods, and now possesses a defensive power on the same level as a dragon and Magic Resistance far greater than that of Saber. Due to its naturally kind nature, Rider has to use Bellerophon to force it to fight.

Unicorn
Unicorns (一角馬) are creatures with the power to purify human souls. The Seventh Holy Scripture was made with the horn of one, Nrvnqsr Chaos has one stored inside of his Reality Marble as one of his stronger creatures.

Demi-Human
Demi-Human (亜人) is the general term used for the likes of fairies, dwarves, and giants.

Fairies
Fairies (妖精) are beings that cannot be seen by normal humans, and they lack any sort of human values. There are various different types, including those that have the power to interfere with people’s memories, and others that are known to be able of crafting Noble Phantasm-level artifacts, with Arondight, Avalon, Excalibur serving as examples. Such artifacts are engraved with Fairy letters (妖精文字), one of the lost languages, to show they were not crafted by human hands and belong to those of another world. Faries are usually entities that cannot be seen by normal humans, however those who evolve into a magnitude where they can be perceived by people become Elementals. True Ancestors can be classified as a type of large fairy.

The fairies in Kara no Kyoukai are not true fairies, but rather lower-class spirits shaped after the image of fairies. They are much weaker in terms of raw power, but share some of the abilities of the real ones due being created in their image.