Oni (Part 3) (
Summary[]
The chapter begins with a flashback, where Sumire is about to be sacrificed to God and jump off the cliff. No. 6, who was present at this ceremony, wonders if he should have slaughtered everyone there, except for Sumire, and saved her.
But he wonders if saving her would even be the right choice, when she never actually asked him to do so.
Returning to the present, No. 6 is still holding up Aoi. She had asked him why he was doing all of this, and he finally informs her that he would like to know that himself.
Suddenly, a beam of lightning strikes the back of No. 6's head. He turns around, and we see Kou standing there and holding his brother's spirit blade. He tells No. 6 to let Aoi go.
No. 6 had thought Kou wouldn't be able to get here with the wounds he had inflicted on him, and tells him he's persistent. Enraged, Kou lets out a battle cry and attacks him with the sword. Getting a closer look, No. 6 recognizes it as the same sword that Yorimitsu-sama wielded. Kou informs him that it belongs to his brother.
As they clash, Kou explains that his Raiteijou was sealed, so it wouldn't have been able to defeat No. 6. His brother had told him that the sword he's holding now was used to defeat demons, so Kou thought it'd be a perfect fit to exorcise No. 6 with.
Kou is impressed by how strong the sword is, saying it's just as powerful as he thought it'd be, but laments upon how heavy it is. The physical strain of using it is also causing his previous injuries to hurt like crazy, and he wishes he could swing it around as easily as Teru does.
Seeing him in distress, No. 6 asks Kou if he's feeling alright. This only makes Kou even more mad, causing him to swing his sword. His swing ends up slicing through No. 6's arm, which delights Kou. No. 6 is unfazed, however, and simply yanks the sword out of his flesh. He knocks Kou off his feet by pulling the sword forward, and smacks him in the head and on his back. He then readies his fist, punching Kou in the face and slamming him into the ground.
After roughing him up some more, No. 6 asks Kou why he came here. He wonders if it was to save Aoi, who he guesses might be important to him, or if it was revenge for what No. 6 did to Teru.
Kou is silent in response. No. 6 tells him to go home, and that he has no interest in messing around with kids like him. As he's walking away, with Aoi in tow, Kou is angry that he was called a "kid" and runs forward to punch him. No. 6 easily thwarts his attack and grabs him, lifting him up by his arm.
No. 6 tells Kou that if he rushes in without a plan like this, then he'll die. But No. 6 wonders if that's actually what Kou wants, and then surmises that someone must want Kou to kill No. 6, even if it costs Kou his own life. A picture of a defeated Teru is shown, lying on the ground.
Kou denies this. He says that he's too weak and stupid for anyone to wish something like that of him. But that doesn't matter to him; he's still going to defeat No. 6, even if nobody is counting on him to do so.
Kou then outlines what he's going to do. He's going to save Aoi, and the injured Teru and Akane as well. By ruining the ceremony to sacrifice Aoi, he'll then be able to open up the Boundary again and get the supernaturals to come back. A picture of Mitsuba when he was disappearing during the Severance is shown. He further adds on that with No. 6's power to control both life and death, they might be able to help Nene with her lifespan, too. A flashback of Hanako cradling Nene's dead body during Chapter 27 is shown.
Kou begins to say that doing this will make everyone happy, but he remembers when Teru told him to stop "acting like a hero" and cuts himself off. He then chomps down on No. 6's nose, who is thrown off by this and left stunned for a second. Seizing the chance, Kou stabs No. 6 with the sword, telling him that he's going to make everybody happy.
No. 6 reflects on this, and as the sword is piercing him, we see a flashback of a young Sumire and No. 6. He notes that no one has ever asked him to make them happy, and that he has never wished to be happy himself. The chapter ends with the lightning from Teru's sword electrifying No. 6.
Characters in order of appearance[]
- Akane Sumire
- Shinigami-sama
- Akane Aoi
- Minamoto Kou
- Yorimitsu-sama (flashback)
- Minamoto Teru
- Aoi Akane
- Mitsuba Sousuke (flashback)
- Hanako (flashback)
- Yashiro Nene (flashback)