Death (
Short Summary[]
Ebisu manages to escape through the vent he opened, but Yato is dragged back into Yomi. Ebisu is met on the surface by Heaven's subjugation forces, but Bishamonten steps in to his defense.
Extended Summary[]
The chapter opens with a flashback of Ebisu's early childhood. A group of his shinki at the time were discussing how they hoped their current "young master" would live to be old enough to call him just "master". Ebisu overheard, and they explained that he had "retired" or "been replaced," which were ways of saying that a god died. He appeared distressed, so they told him that even if he dies, he will live again, so he should put his mind at ease.
In the present, Hiyori and Yukine find that the entrance to Yomi is sealed, and it doesn't open despite Yukine's efforts to break through using borderlines. Suddenly, a vent opens some distance away, and they decide to travel toward it.
In Yomi, Yato lies on the ground, having been pulled back by Izanami's hair wrapped around his ankle. Despite the situation, Yato is overjoyed to know that he successfully saved Ebisu, not because Father told him to, but because Yato himself wanted to.
In another flashback, Ebisu appeared to be in his early teens. Looking through a book, Ebisu found that he had many names/enshrined personas. He pointed out to Iwami that his name "Ebisu" can mean "drowned corpse," and asked what exactly he is. Iwami explained that he was the first child of Izanagi and Izanami. Ebisu suggested that he was abandoned by his parents because they didn't want him, and called himself no different from a stray. Ebisu then stood up and asked Iwami about something he'd read about in the past-Ebisu journals: the Word.
In the present, Ebisu and Kunimi make it out of Yomi with the Word. However, Heaven's Execution Squad, lead by Takemikazuchi, arrives immediately after. He announces that Ebisu will be put into retirement for the crime of taming ayakashi. Ebisu acknowledges that he would have accepted his fate, but now that Yato has ordered him not to die, he would hate to do so.
Takemikazuchi commands the Execution Squad to fire their bows, sending a rain of arrows Ebisu's way. He uses the Word to command ayakashi to protect him. Takemikazuchi then summons his shinki, Ouki, who takes the form of an enormous lightning dragon. Ouki eliminates the ayakashi, setting a telephone pole on the Near Shore in the process. Just as another lightning strike comes down, Bishamonten arrives in full battle gear and protects him from the blow. With Kazuma leading the attack, they are able to temporarily hold off Heaven's offense and even injure Ouki.
A young girl suddenly appears at Ebisu's side. Kazuma and Bishamonten try to alert Ebisu to run away, but they are too late. The girl explodes. At the last moment, Ebisu manages to revert Kunimi to human form, sending him backward and out of fatal range of the blast. Ebisu receives the full brunt of the explosion.
While Kunimi is transported to the Execution Squad by a group of three large birds, Bishamon hurries to Ebisu's side. She sits him up and holds him in her arms, trying to apologize for not being able to save him. Ebisu asks her to bring the Word to Iwami, and she reassures him that she will see to him. He then asks Bishamon to rescue Yato, who is still in Yomi, which she also agrees to. She smiles with tears in her eyes, and tells him, "You will live again!! So set your mind at ease."
Her words and expression bring him to the same childhood flashback with his old shinki, who had told him the same thing during his early childhood. He appears to have understood their words as, "It doesn't matter if you die." This time, Yato appears in the flashback, asking if that is what he really wants.
Ebisu begins to cry, and admits to Bishamon that he doesn't want to die.
He dies immediately after, leaving only blood and empty clothes behind. Hiyori and Yukine witness this from afar, and the Word falls on top of a nearby gutter grate.
Characters[]
Character Debuts[]
- Kiun (vessel form)