A New Land (
Short Summary[]
After naming himself with the Word, Father creates a new nation that engulfs himself, the Stray, and Yato; the nation continues to supplant the Near Shore as unidentifiable creatures emerge and enter Nakatsukuni. Father tries to end Yato's life himself, but he is interrupted by Yukine, who suddenly appears in a drastically new form.
Extended Summary[]
Chapter 104-1[]
The Stray and Yato watch on in shock as Father exposes his original form and uses the Word to draw a mask on his own face. In doing so, he separates himself from the human soul he's been inhabiting– so at the same time, Kouto Fujisaki awakens suddenly inside the Tajima family's former apartment. Yato realizes that he did this to protect his lifeline, Kouto. Yato almost summons Sekki, but quickly decides against it since he doesn't want to see what happened to Kazuma happen to Yukine as well.
Father contemplates his current condition, thinking to himself that he can feel the chill of Yomi and the breath of Izanami. However, when the Stray points out the danger of what he's done (by using the Word on himself, there's a possibility he may "vanish" if something goes wrong), Father grabs her by the hair and tells her he doesn't want to hear such things from a "dumpster baby" who's been so useless. Feeling he has taken things too far, Yato interrupts by throwing himself bodily at Father, causing Yato and the Stray to both collapse to the side.
When Father claims that both of them are useless, Yato replies that he isn't a god or living person– he is simply a dead man who can do nothing but haunt others. He runs at Father with his fist raised, but his punch is blocked by a barrier that forms in front of Father. Notably, the barrier bears patterns that resemble those found in Yomi, used by Izanami to seal the exits. While Yato stares in shocked confusion, Father refers back to Yato's earlier words to him about living in a "completely different world,"[2] remarking that that's something he's able to do now. He then raises his hand in the air, producing a small mass resembling a drop of water. He quickly lowers the hand, causing the mass to contact the ground, and calls this new ability of his Birthing a Nation. The surrounding area is immediately consumed by waves that appear to swallow Yato underneath them.
Elsewhere, Arahabaki says he'll follow after Bishamon and asks Shiiho to use the Firefighting Incantation to help extinguish the large fires from the earlier battle involving Father and Kagutsuchi. Before Arahabaki can leave, he's stopped by a worried Mayu and Kiun, who have been unable to get in contact with their masters. Arahabaki responds that he hasn't seen Tenjin or Takemikazuchi, and they reply that they've heard that Kofuku and Okuninushi have also been missing. Hearing this, Arahabaki hopes to himself that they haven't also gone after the Crafter.
A little ways behind them, a mother reunites with her son, who says that he's okay because an old man protected him. Looking closer, they realize that the boy's rescuer is Okuninushi, hunched over on the ground. They immediately run to his side, and he apologizes to them, feeling blame for letting the Crafter get away and creating consequences that couldn't be undone. The other three are shocked as they see that Okuninushi is carrying two small children and a young three-legged bird– the reincarnations of Kagutsuchi, Shinatsuhiko, and Yatagarasu. While they check on the four gods, Shiiho alerts Arahabaki of something that the piece of himself furthest away from them saw. Arahabki asks him to elaborate, and Shiiho explains that something that looks like a giant lake has appeared and seems to be expanding.
Meanwhile, Hiyori suddenly finds herself in a space that appears to be underwater with a few pillars of light. Each contains the image of a location; one small hut, one larger house, and a sakura tree. Hiyori focuses on the sakura tree, thinking that she's seen it before.
Chapter 104-2[]
Yato awakens in the world that Father had created to find the Stray in her ayakashi form and himself in the form of a child. While he's wondering if he'd been reincarnated, Father suddenly appears, levitating with Izanami's symbols behind him. He explains that the world is breaking down due to an influx of beings from Yomi, and that those who were sacrificed to build the nation should be afforded a nation of their own. Multiple humanoid creatures then crawl out from the grass. Yato urges the Stray to run away with him, but she does not budge, and the creatures begin to grab at them both. While Yato is trying to defend the Stray, Father approaches and suddenly kicks him away, then states that the nation they are in yearns to overtake the Near Shore.
On the Near Shore, Shiiho watches on in shock as the same creatures pull themselves out from the lake he'd been observing. Shiiho exclaims that they aren't normal ayakashi; indeed, two humans nearby are easily able to see the creatures.
Inside Father's nation, he looms over Yato, beginning to strangle him as he claims that there is no need for gods and he should have created this nation from the start– and that Yato should die now that he no longer has any need for him. Yato remembers Father's crying face,[3] and wonders why as he tries to kick him away to no avail.
Suddenly, Yukine appears– not in the form of a human, but in the form of a great wolf with multiple eyes. He slams into Father, knocking him off of Yato. Yukine bites through the plastic bottle he was holding in his mouth, dousing Yato in purifying water to cure him of his blight. Father asks how Hagusa got here, and Yukine explains that while he was asleep he heard a voice calling for him. In his dream, he was trapped somewhere cramped, cold, and dark, and afraid that he'd be trapped in there for eternity. However, he also realized that reality was much brighter. Father counters that the world has no such brightness, and that Hagusa still has much darkness inside him. This is why Hagusa has taken this form: unfocused anger turns people's souls into something horrific.
Yukine agrees that he is holding on to anger at his own father, at Yato for keeping things from him, and at himself for all that he's done. He almost admits that he enjoyed being Hagusa, allowing that anger to control him and feeling like he would be able to fix the world himself. He goes on to acknowledge that he is dead and no longer exists, so Yato's words to him– instructing him to live as a human[4]– made him incredibly happy. He believes he's been going about things the wrong way, and apologizes to Yato for what he's turned into. Yato, teary-eyed, shakes his head and embraces him.
Characters[]
Character Debuts[]
No new characters debuted in this chapter.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Father
- Kouto Fujisaki
- The Stray
- Yato
- Izanami
- Arahabaki
- Kiun
- Ōkuninushi
- Yatagarasu
- Shinatsuhiko
- Mayu
- Shiiho
- Hiyori Iki
References
- ↑ fast-moon on Tumblr - January 5, 2023
- ↑ Chapter 102: Lifeline (Vol 26)
- ↑ Chapter 101: For Whose Sake (Vol 26)
- ↑ Chapter 11: A Name (Vol 3)