Prayer's Price

"Prayer's Price" is the forty-seventh chapter of the Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga series, written by Takaya Kagami and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto.

Short Summary
Kureto tells Guren of his plans to stage a coup and kill his father, Tenri Hiragi. Meanwhile, Ferid and the main characters get on a bus. Ferid tells Makoto he has the bodies of his former squad packed away in bottles too.

Yu wakes up and asks about Guren. In Shinjuku, Guren and Shinya talk, and Guren says he was always the one in control when he killed his own soldiers.

Ferid explains that Shinya, Norito, Mito, Sayuri, and Shigure all died eight years ago, but Guren used the Seraph of the End project to return them to life. In exchange, a virus wiped out all of the adult humans in the world, and Guren has been haunted by that price ever since.

Long Summary
Kureto steps out of his car at the walls of Shinjuku and discusses his plans with Guren. He says they killed their allies because it meant something. He says he is now heading onward to Shibuya to kill his father, Tenri Hiragi, because Tenri no longer has the right to lead. He predicts that once he kills Tenri, there will be infighting within Shinjuku, and states that it is Guren's job to quell it. Guren jokes on how he might end up as Kureto's enemy, and Kureto replies that once he kills Tenri, Guren will get what he wants, which will be the Ichinose house freed from the family hierarchy. Just before leaving, Kureto tells Guren that he'd better persuade Shinya to join them, as he is a necessary piece for the survival of humanity

Meanwhile, Crowley works on fixing a bus engine and comments he has learned a lot about fixing cars because Ferid keeps making him repair them. Not exactly pleased with the situation, the main characters enter the bus. Crowley drives them. Ferid jokes about them being on a "field trip" with a "ton of packed lunches," and Shiho hopes he is not referring to their squad as the meal.

The squad discusses the situation. Shinoa says they require Yu’s medicine and information, but Mika warns them that Ferid is completely manipulating every last one of them.

On cue, Ferid approaches Makoto and tells him he has the bodies of all of his squad members packed up in bottles as well. Makoto is enraged, but Shiho tells him to just let Ferid talk. Mika says to not bother asking Ferid any questions since this is all a game to him.

Ferid just teases Shiho about Mirai and counts down until Yu wakes up. Shiho says he finally realizes what Crowley and Mika meant when they said dealing with Ferid is a pain.

Everyone is relieved to see Yu awake and okay. Mika tells him they are keeping Akane out of his sight. Shinoa says Ferid claims the Seraph of the End experiment was meant to revive the dead. Mika says to not trust him. Yu mentions that the drug appears to be working. Ferid says he has the bodies of the other orphans at his mansion, but he refuses to tell them where they are headed now. Yu says he will not believe a word Ferid says, but he will listen to what he says about Guren.

Ferid mocks Yu about always asking about Guren, but replies to his questions anyway.

In Shinjuku, Guren orders the guards to open all the cells, despite their protests. He then walks into Shinya's cell. Shinya, sitting on the floor, told Guren it is not wise for him to walk in like that, as he might kill him. He demands a reason for why Guren killed his own comrades, and said that he might forgive Guren if he states his reason. However, the latter simply stated that he did kill his comrades, which enraged Shinya and caused him to summon Byakkomaru, pointing it at him. An agitated Shinya tries to get Guren to draw his sword, and asked him if the demon was in control. Guren replies that he was in control of himself, as a new drug is used to control his demon. Shinya refused to believe him, and tells Mahiru-no-Yo to shut up. However, Guren's silence eventually convinced Shinya that Mahiru was not in control, and he falls to the ground, trembling, saying that he won't be able to forgive Guren, and asked the latter on the reasons behind his actions. Ferid says Guren is haunted by the deaths of his comrades: Shinya Hiragi, Norito Goshi, Mito Jujo, Sayuri Hanayori, and Shigure Yukimi. He says they all died eight years ago, shocking and confusing Shinoa. He says they all died and were then revived. He says the world does not permit the dead to return, and that angered a petty god. The price of their return was the culling of all the adult humans in the world by a virus.

Ever since then, Guren Ichinose has been haunted by that sin and its price.