CROW

Crow (烏（カラス）, Karasu), the Central Office Battle Corps (中央庁戦闘部隊, Chūōchō Sentō Butai), is an elite group of humans from the Black Order who act as special enforcers. Though they are not endowed with Innocence, they possess unique skills and the ability to cast powerful spells to bind their enemies. Howard Link, a former member of Crow, demonstrated this ability against several Akuma while trying to protect Timothy and the other orphans. It was originally believed that Crow was only capable of temporarily hindering Akuma, but their power apparently goes beyond that. A Crow member by the name of Madarao was able to walk through a barrier erected by Skulls, which was powerful enough to block both the use of Allen Walker's Pentacle Eye and Noah abilities. Furthermore, he defeated a Level 3 Akuma by absorbing it into his hand with a spell, much to the surprise of Link.

It is soon revealed that the current generation of Crow members are Third Exorcists (第三（サード）エクソシスト, Sādo Ekusoshisuto), humans who were biologically converted into half-human/half-Akuma hybrids, allowing them to fight and destroy Akuma through cannibalism, one of the two known ways to eliminate an Akuma. They were created under the direction of Renee Epsteine, by fusing human beings with Akuma cells taken from the Akuma Egg.

Powers and abilities
The full potential of Crow remains unknown. Note that many of the abilities listed here are unique to the Third Exorcists.

Spell Casting: Members of Crow have shown considerable appitude in using spells and incanations, to the extent of being able to create barriers that can hold Level 3 Akuma at bay. Below is a listing of known spells performed by Crow members.
 * Mamori Bane (衛羽, lit. "Guardian Wing"): Uses a number of charms to create a circular barrier that surrounds the user and others for protection.

Immense Strength: Madarao has shown incredible strength, effortlessly blocking a blow from a Level 3 Akuma with his bare hand. Koushi was also able to hurl Allen into a stone pillar with enough strength to partially destroy it.

Akuma Presence: Due to the Akuma cells present in their bodies, Third Exorcists count as Akuma as well, allowing them to pass through barriers only Akuma can pentrate. Allen Walker's Pentacle Eye reacts to the Crow members only when their Akuma abilities are active, but he sees only a dark aura and no bound soul. As a side-effect of being half-Akuma, they react aggressively when they come into contact with Innocence, and may instinctively attack Innocence users.

Cannibalism: Though Third Exorcists possess no Innocence and therefore cannot destroy Akuma through Exorcism, they can invoke the Akuma cells in their body to transform their left arm into a Preta (喰機（ガキ）, Gaki) that allows them to absorb and eliminate Akuma through Cannibalism. Though the name refers to the Preta, "hungry devils" found in Buddhist mythology, the kanji used in the name literally translates to Devouring Mechanism (喰機, Kuki). Below is a listing of abilities that have been performed with it:
 * Gaki Kaibyaku Kō (喰機開闢孔（ガキカイビャクコウ）, lit. "Preta Creation Hole"): The Third Exorcist transforms their left arm, causing their flesh to part away and reveal a core of Dark Matter within their forearm and a hole in their palm, through which they can create a vortex that resembles a black hole. This can be used to absorb an Akuma directly, or to spread a dark shadow across the ground which can drag them down like a whirlpool before drawing them in.

Members
Renee Epsteine of the North America branch was responsible for the Third Exorcist program and appears to be in direct command of the Crow members stationed at the Black Order by order of the Pope. Crow consists of five individuals: Tokusa, Kiredori, Koushi, Tevak and Madarao, all Third Exorcists. Their creation was called the Order's dark legacy by Bak, an incident that may have also involved Kanda Yu.

Former Members
Howard Link - An inspector for the Black Order and a former member of Crow, Link was shocked to learn of the true nature of his former squad, making it likely that he left the unit well before the Third Exorcist program began.