Don't Go— Stay With Me (
Short Summary[]
Kugaha's masked ayakashi wipes out most of the Ha clan shinki. Kazuma and Hiyori arrive and try to stop the fight between Yato and Bishamon, but she doesn't let up.
Extended Summary[]
Many members of Bishamonten's Ha clan have sequestered themselves within a wall of borderlines. The masked ayakashi brought onto the estate by Kugaha suddenly bursts into the hall and destroys the barrier, resulting in numerous shinki being eaten, including one young man who Kugaha pushes into the ayakashi's jaws. He claims that he's removing junk and is hopeful that Yato will finish the job by defeating Bishamon.
Meanwhile, Kuraha carries Hiyori and Kazuma back to Bishamon's estate while he explains the full situation to them. Kazuma expresses doubt in how he's lead the Ha clan, urging them to keep smiling so that they avoid discord amongst themselves, which would burden their master. Hiyori then explains that Yato and Yukine try to speak about it honestly when something is wrong, and doing the opposite for Bishamon could actually be more difficult for her.
They arrive at the estate to find the situation is worse than Kazuma was expecting. Bishamon, delirious with pain from the death of her shinki, recalls her past with Yato and blames him for killing them. She lashes out at him again, though Yato just calmly observes that she's dangerously blighted and is still using her shinki. He recalls the Stray's words about how broken ties can't be mended, and how Yato would slay them when the time calls for it. He dodges Bishamon's next attack and swings Sekki toward her neck, intending to cut her down. However, he freezes in place when he hears Hiyori call his name.
She and Kazuma run over and quickly explain to them how Kugaha's plan has played out. Despite this, Bishamon still swings her sword at Yato, who manages to block to blow in time. She angrily tells him to give her her family back. Yato replies that if she wants to continue seeing him as the villain so badly, then he'd consider obliging her and killing her shinki a second time. He kicks her back, and they resume their battle.
Inside the manor, Kugaha stands with his masked ayakashi in the hall, which is now littered with blood and corpses. He tells the ayakashi to find and eliminate any survivors. Hearing this through a vent connected to the next room, Mineha tells Fumiha that they need to run to the spring because the ayakashi is coming their way. Fumiha, completely disheartened, tells Mineha to go without her because all her friends are dead and Bishamon would be soon, too. Mineha encourages her by saying that just as Fumiha wanted her friends to live, Mineha wants Fumiha to live as well. The ayakashi then appears around the corner, and the two shinki run away.
Multiple other Ha clan shinki are standing in the pool of natural spring water, believing that the ayakashi wouldn't be able to follow them inside. Seeing this, Kugaha laughs and says that masked ayakashi are different from normal ones - they follow their orders no matter what. As he does, Fumiha, Mineha, and the ayakashi burst into the room. True to Kugaha's prediction, the ayakashi still enters the water to pursue the other shinki. Kugaha then decides to leave so he can witness Bishamon's last moments.
Outside, Yato tells Kuraha and Hiyori to stay back, because the blight is dangerously strong and Bishamon is taking everyone down with her. Deciding that he has to kill her, Yato reassures Yukine that she will revive afterward and that he will take responsibility for slaying her, not Yukine. Yato then cuts deeply across her chest, injuring both Kinuha and Tsuguha in the process. Kuraha tries to pounce on Yato in retaliation, but is held back by the blight. Bishamon, utterly anguished, raises Saiki and swings down at Yato. But before she makes contact with him, Kazuma shoves Yato out of the way and receives the blow instead, resulting in a deep gash from his shoulder to hip.
He embraces Bishamon, and admits the truth about what happened to the Ma clan– the he was a traitor who asked Yato to help. He wanted to tell her, but was never able to. He also admits that he could never try to cure Bishamon of her hatred for Yato, because it's what helped her regain her strength. He believes he's failed as a blessed vessel and apologizes for causing her so much pain. Hearing this, Bishamon falls to her knees with him and begins to sob.
Yato tells Bishamon to release her shinki, which she quickly obliges. She lays Kazuma on the ground and apologizes to everyone, wailing that so many of her shinki have died again. Yukine points out that Yato hasn't killed anyone, at which point Kugaha exits the manor and taunts them, saying that with a blessed vessel Yato should easily be able to clear out a few shinki. Kugaha tells him to put them out of their misery, to which Yato replies that he'll do that and start with Kugaha.
Characters[]
Character Debuts[]
No new characters debuted in this chapter.