Brothers in Blood

"Brothers in Blood" (血のキョウダイ) is the fiftieth chapter of the Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga series, written by Takaya Kagami and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto.

Synopsis
Lest rips out Ferid's heart and questions him until Ferid begins turning into a demon. After getting his heart back, Ferid feeds on Shiho and nearly kills him.

Saito licks a wound on Krul free of an ointment preventing its healing, but Urd has already noticed him. Urd fights Saito, and Saito surprises him by having no blood that Urd can smell and by sprouting chains from his limbs. Saito tells Urd to leave Japan, but Urd refuses. Saito escapes by throwing Krul into Urd and cutting Lest in half.

He encounters Ferid but only pats him on the head. Ferid then talks to Crowley about killing more powerful progenitors until they can one day kill Saito.

Shiho suffers from anemia while Mika gets information from the other vampires. Yoichi recognizes Lacus as the one who killed his sister.

Characters
List of characters in order of appearance:
 * Lest Karr
 * Urd Geales
 * Yuichiro Hyakuya
 * Mikaela Hyakuya
 * Crowley Eusford
 * Ferid Bathory
 * Saitō
 * Shihō Kimizuki
 * Shinoa Hīragi
 * Yoichi Saotome
 * Mitsuba Sangū
 * Krul Tepes
 * Makoto Narumi
 * Lacus Welt
 * René Simm
 * Tomoe Saotome (Flashback)

Summary
When Ferid greets the foreign vampires, Lest Karr rips Ferid's heart out, shocking the humans present. Crowley warns the humans not to move and says this is just a game Lest plays.

Lest interrogates Ferid, but Ferid's skin darkens as he begins turning into a demon. Under Urd's command, Lest returns Ferid's heart.

Mad with thirst, Ferid lunges at Shiho and bites him on the neck. As Ferid drinks his blood, Crowley holds Yu back, warning him that acting now will get all of them killed. After drinking, Ferid throws Shiho to the ground, stating he nearly killed Shiho. He says he still needs more blood and asks for a volunteer from the horrified humans.

Urd asks what the humans are, and Ferid answers that they are his current favorite toys. Urd mentions it being illegal to drink blood directly from humans, but Ferid says that is only true in the capital, which has since been destroyed.

Urd senses something.

Meanwhile, Krul and Saito both notice that the army is close. Saito also mentions that Krul is bleeding and says a strange ointment has been rubbed onto the wound to prevent it from healing. He comments that the blood of high-ranking progenitors has a unique scent, which draws in lesser vampires. He licks the ointment off, allowing it to heal. Saito comments that Urd has already noticed them.

Back at the docks, Urd says he smelled blood, but the scent suddenly vanished. He tells Lest to come with him and suddenly bolts to Ferid's mansion.

Saito comments that this was a trap for him and wonders if he should leave or let it play out. Krul asks him to take her with him until Urd bursts through the door and attacks Saito, addressing him as Rigr Stafford.

Urd draws his sword and orders it to drink his blood. Saito dodges and offers his arm while Urd calls him slow. After Urd cuts off his arm, chains sprout from it, surprising Urd when they attack him. One pierces his neck and causes curse marks to appear around the wound. Urd removes it and asks what that was while Saito uses the chains to hold himself upside down hanging from the ceiling as he literally pulls himself together. He answers that this was a curse he has been working on for centuries with human help. Urd says he cannot smell Saito's blood and asks if Saito is no longer a vampire. They both mention that the first progenitor abandoned them.

Saito asks what Urd wants since he has been following the first progenitor's rules all of these centuries and then tells him that they should stop interfering with each other. He tells Urd to leave Japan and says this is his playground. Urd says he will not listen to a request from him.

Saito loops a chain around Krul's neck and breaks her free from the wall, throwing her at Urd, who catches her rather than cutting through her. When Lest stands in Saito's way, Saito cuts him in half. Saito escapes.

Lest pulls his torso together and apologizes, but Urd tells him not to blame himself. Lest asks Krul to tell them what happened.

Saito then encounters Ferid, who says it has been a thousand years since they last met.

Saito says he is in a hurry, but Ferid asks if he is sure he does not want to kill him. The two briefly debate whether killing Ferid will trigger another trap or if not killing him will make Saito regret it. Saito rushes at Ferid with his fingers in the same position he used to cut Lest in two, which appears to please Ferid, but then pats Ferid on the head, making his smile vanish. He comments that he chose an odd one to turn into a vampire and says he will forgive Ferid today, but will not be so generous next time.

After he leaves, Crowley step forward and mentions that killing "that thing" would be impossible. Ferid jokes they will just have to practice first by killing fifth progenitors and working their way up. He says they should be able to handle Saito once they can kill Urd. Ferid says they must ask the humans for help since they are experts at killing things greater than them.

Back on the bus, Shinoa Squad watches as Shiho gasps for air, anemic and wishing he had meat. When Yu says he will go out there and look for meat on his own, Shiho knocks him in the head with a can. When Yu says he is still worried, Shinoa says they should at least wait quietly until Mika returns from gathering information for them. Mitsuba and Yoichi tell Yu to quit drawing attention to them, and Yu peeks out at Mika, who is talking with some of the foreign vampires. Yu comments that they all have red eyes out there, even Mika.

Lacus and Rene approach Mika, and Mika asks them what has been happening. Lacus says they are going to retake Sanguinem.

Yoichi walks up behind Yu and looks over his shoulder. He abruptly recognizes the two vampires and recalls when Lacus killed his sister. Curse marks appear around Yoichi's eye as he says Lacus's name.

Gallery
Manga panels provide a visual overview of the events of chapter 50 with depictions of the characters, Seraph of the End world and scenarios.

Overall

 * Story by Chapter