Seraph of the End 3: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen

Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose's Catastrophe at 16 (Volume 3) is the third volume of the Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose's Catastrophe at 16 light novel series which includes Guren's past with Mahiru and his encounter with many characters of the manga sequel, Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign.

Prologue
The prologue opens up with Shinya Hiragi's past. When Shinya was five years old, he attended an elite kindergarten run by the Mikado no Oni and was selected for his talent to become one of Mahiru Hiragi's fiancé candidates. Once selected, he transferred schools to Tokyo the next day. His parents received three million yen from the Hiragi and rose in social ranking in exchange for never seeing him again.

Although he cried and begged to stay, his parents scolded him for being selfish and told him this was a great honor.

He went to Shibuya, Tokyo. He had tests every three months, and only the top 30% were allowed to continue and the remainder were disposed of. Every year, the contestants would fight to the death. By the time Shinya turned ten, he already killed many other people. He struggled every day to learn new curses, spells, and martial arts. Although he occasionally made friends in the beginning, they would soon die, and he gave up on making friends entirely. As this went on, he developed a fake, heartless smile to keep himself calm and make his opponents drop their guard.

One day, his instructor informed him that he won the candidacy to become Mahiru Hiragi's fiancé and was officially adopted into the Hiragi family.

Mahiru approaches him, and he admires her beauty and grace. He attempts to flatter her, but she tells him to address her normally. As he considers how to attract her, she abruptly tells him that she already loves someone else and has no interest in him.

When he says he will be killed if she does not accept him, she explains that they will have a pretend relationship in order to protect the person she truly loves. Even so, he says he does not plan on losing to anyone and likes Mahiru.

She attacks him, and he is deceived by an illusion until she taps an explosion tag onto his back.

She tells him he will only become stronger after his loss and then chats about Guren.

Chapter 1
Iori Mitsuki, a curse researcher working for the Ichinose family, draws black blood from Guren's arm. She informs him that all of the researchers are looking into his case, and he appears to have traces of an unknown man-made poison in his blood with curses mixed in.

Guren recalls when Mahiru infected him.

Mitsuki requests permission to perform human experimentation using a few devoted believers, even though that is forbidden within the Ichinose by the Mikado no Oni under the Hiragi. Guren does not permit it and says he will be the subject instead. Should the Ichinose perform human experimentation, the Hiragi would interpret it as a declaration of war and would annihilate the Ichinose.

Since she is unable to accept using Guren as an experimental subject and they both have type-A blood, Mitsuki injects the black blood into herself and insists on using herself as the subject first.

After a few seconds, she begins screaming and loses control as she begins turning into a demon. Guren uses the demon sword Hakushi to cut off the transformed left hand. The severed hand grows and mutates, sprouting eyes, teeth, and appendages until it is larger than a human. When it attempts to devour Mitsuki, Guren attacks and kills it.

Mitsuki stops the bleeding with talismans, and researchers rush in. Despite losing her hand, she smiles and says the sacrifice is worth it. The other researchers agree, and Guren tells them they must minimize the experimentation to hide it from the Hiragi. He tells them they must complete this within four months because of the upcoming Apocalypse on Christmas.

When Guren leaves, Shigure and Sayuri approach him and demand to know what he is hiding from them.

Chapter 2
Students chatter about Guren. Mito approaches him and scolds him about hiding his true strength. Eventually, Shinya tells her to leave him be. Guren ignores him, which starts up the chatter in the classroom once more.

500 years ago, the Ichinose were the most loyal branch to the Hiragi family. However, both the first and second son of the Hiragi family were enamored with the Ichinose's eldest daughter. Eventually, the second son won her heart. Unable to accept this, the first son raped and impregnated her and castrated his brother. The first son then later chased them and his child from his home. The second son and Ichinose daughter created the Mikado no Tsuki. Although the first son could have easily exterminated them, he let them live on for the sake of humiliating them, and the Ichinose have been scorned and ridiculed ever since.

Mito returns to her seat. When Goshi teases her, she punches him, and he laughs.

When the lecture begins, Shinya sidles over to Guren and begins whispering to annoy him. Then, he states the Hyakuya Sect will appear tonight. He passes the address of the meeting spot to Guren, and Guren wonders whether he can trust Shinya. They begin talking about Mahiru, and Shinya says he admires her and is jealous of Guren. Guren pockets the note while being careful to preserve Shinya's fingerprints on it.

After class, Kureto calls Guren. Goshi asks if it is Guren's girlfriend on the phone, surprising Mito. Kureto orders Guren to go to the student council room during lunch tomorrow. When Shinya asks if that was Kureto, Guren says it was his girlfriend, causing Mito to become even more flustered. Guren walks off without explaining the joke, but Shinya takes pity on Mito instead.

Guren meets with Shigure and Sayuri. Goshi says they should all go to Guren's house to play, and Shigure asks if she should kill them. The group chats as they walk, and Mito says she will support Guren until he acquires the status he deserves.

Guren wonders if he has the heart to kill Mito and Goshi when the time comes.

Chapter 3
The 6 pm newscast reports at the scene of a fire.

In Guren's condominium, Shinya is defeating Mito at shogi while Goshi and Guren watch. Although none of them knew how to play shogi, Goshi insisted on them buying a cheap game from the convenience store. They played in an elimination-style tournament against each other. Goshi handedly defeated Guren in the first round, and Shinya is winning the second. As it turns out, Guren felt drained at the start of his match and lost on purpose, delighting Goshi and causing Mito to comfort him. However, Shinya realized it, annoying Guren evermore. When they tease Mito, she tells them the TV is distracting her.

The newscast shows the fire of a burning building as mud and bricks explode. A disheveled woman in her mid-twenties with long, silky black hair steps out of the crowd and screams for Yuichiro. A firefighter tries to calm her as she waves her arms, but she hits him. She holds a lighter and screams that the fire should never be put out. She screams about a demon child, who needs to be killed immediately.

She pours petrol onto her clothing and has trouble igniting the lighter. Firefighters tackle her.

Saito appears and approaches the camera. The footage at the scene cuts out.

Mito and Goshi turn back to the game. Mito surrenders. Since Mito is hungry and Shinya has things to do, they decide to continue their tournament next time. The three of them leave, and Guren picks up the phone Shinya left on the ground. Shinya left a funny message for Guren on there, but the phone did not contain any useful information. Shinya rings the doorbell, and they chat again. Shinya glances at the TV screen.

Guren says they should not go investigate since it is too dangerous and they need more information about the fire first. Shinya tells him to not lie to his comrades, and Guren informs him that Shinya is not his comrade.

Mito and Goshi come for Shinya, and the three leave again. There are no longer any news reports of the fire, meaning it was most likely censored by the Hyakuya Sect.

As Guren ponders what to do, Shigure and Sayuri return home. He decides to investigate without them.

At 1:30 a.m., Guren arrives at the Hikarigaoka Park on a motorcycle to meet with the Hyakuya Sect. Shinya arrives next. They creep into the park and get into position to watch the tennis court. They see eight trained Hyakuya Sect men in suits. The men yell something and then get into battle formation. The men launched chains from their bodies at a vampire, who easily avoids their attacks while decapitating three of them and drinking the blood of a third. Within seconds, the vampire kills the rest of them. She does not appear to be a noble.

She glances at Guren and Shinya and smirks.

Guren and Shinya immediately race to their motorcycles. Guren runs his motorcycle into her, but she easily catches the motorcycle and pops its tire. Guren swings his sword, and Shinya grabs Guren as they flee. They crush a taxi, and Guren throws exploding tags at the pursuing vampire. One blows off her foot, but it rapidly regenerates. She ignores the fact that her clothes are on fire and continues to chase them.

Despite going as fast as they can, she easily catches up to them. Guren cuts off her hand. Unperterbed, the vampire watched them escape. They dodge around traffic but break a rearview mirror, which hits Guren in the forehead.

Since she is no longer chasing them, Guren tells Shinya to slow down. Shinya says they will be arrested if he does that because Guren is waving a katana around and not wearing a helmet. Guren says he does not want to die because of inferior driving ability. Shinya eventually slows down, and they pull into an alley.

Guren wonders about why the vampires have become so active lately. He considers that Mahiru might be instigating all of it.

Guren thanks Shinya for saving him and says he trusts Shinya a little more. They split up to head home.

Over three hours later, Guren returns home and is greeted by a panicking Shigure and Sayuri. They begin crying. He reminds them not to touch his blood. He orders them to go to Aichi for a check-up. He feels relieved he left them behind because they would have been killed by the vampire.

Guren takes a bath and finally collapses into bed after 4 a.m. but is unable to sleep.

Chapter 4
During fourth period the next day, Guren resists the need to sleep while Shinya snoozes on his desk. Mito approaches Guren while hiding a shogi board behind her back. She scolds him about taking care of himself. He agrees to try and end the conversation. Mito tells him she had fun yesterday and says they should get together sometime in the future. Guren contemplates having companions and a squad.

She finally challenges Guren to a shogi match. Guren believes it is too dangerous for him to sleep there, so he accepts.

The student sitting in front of Guren offers his seat to Mito. Goshi notices what they are up to and approaches from the middle of the room. Shinya wakes up and says he will watch if Guren plays seriously this time. Mito, Goshi, and Shinya bicker over who gets to face him. Shinya says he will help wake Guren up for his meeting with Kureto. They set a three-second time limit per turn, and Guren wins four out of seven matches against Shinya. Eventually, a classmate who knows shogi well faces them and trounces all of them.

Guren gets his katana from his locker and answers a call from Kureto. Once he reaches the student council office, he encounters Aoi Sangu. She leads him to Kureto. As they walk, he realizes he has only seen her three times despite being classmates and asks if it is okay for one of Kureto's subordinates to skip classes. She says she detests useless activities and insists an outsider like him stop attempting conversation with her. She reveals that Kureto is in the basement of the gymnasium, which is the same place he had Guren tortured before. When Guren asks if he will be interrogated again, she reveals that Shinoa Hiragi is actually the one being interrogated.

She answers her phone and reveals that Guren's face was photographed and he passed the test for not lying. She says it appears he has not met Shinoa Hiragi after all.

Guren maintains a poker face but considers everything Shinoa may have revealed to Kureto about Mahiru and him. He contemplates killing her before she gives away any dangerous information.

Guren enters the room and smells blood. He sees Shinoa sitting on chair in the middle of a narrow room. Her feet and hands are bound. Her fingers are dripping blood from where the fingernails have been torn off. Her face is covered with bruises. Spotting him, Shinoa cheerfully says she is innocent and should be freed.

Guren's face contorts into an expression of disgust. Kureto comments about it, and Guren says he hates torturing kids. Kureto agrees but says such things do not matter for a Hiragi. He points out that Shinoa is smiling and says she has been trained to never let loose a single word during torture.

Kureto asks Guren about the Hyakuya Sect meeting and asks if Mahiru is the traitor. Guren remains silent before eventually saying he does not know. After a few more questions, Guren says he does not know if Mahiru is the traitor. Kureto continues asking him questions, and Guren keeps denying his accusations.

Kureto says that the messenger sent by the Hyakuya Sect did not survive. He glances at the neighboring room, which has blood seeping through the walls. Guren comments about letting a child see that. Kureto comments that the Ichinose are gentle and appreciates how Guren knows he cannot win against Kureto.

Guren walks over to Shinoa, pats her head, and releases her restraints. She asks permission to stand up, but Kureto orders her to remain seated.

Kureto reveals that this is actually all makeup and Shinoa was not actually tortured. He says she would not reveal anything anyway. Shinoa stands up, saying she is bored. He commands her to stay and leave the makeup on for when he questions Shinya later.

Kureto says this was all to gather information and says he will trust Guren. Kureto says he already knows Guren met Shinoa, so he will kill Shinoa first. Kureto grabs Shinoa by the neck, and Guren charges him. Kureto blocks his attack and threatens to break Shinoa's neck.

Kureto receives a text from Mahiru telling him to do as he pleases. Kureto shows the message to Guren and Shinoa. Shinoa begins tearing up. She quickly regains her composure, but it was too late.

Kureto talks about Mahiru and says Guren is the opposite of her. He says Guren is idiotic trash being used by that woman. He calls Mahiru a beautiful monster. However, he says that Mahiru might listen to Guren. Kureto wants Guren to give Mahiru a message if he encounters her. He says he wants Mahiru to return to the Hiragi and says he will permit Mahiru to marry Guren. He advises Guren to hold her and never let her go or else kill her before she destroys everyone around her.

Kureto sends Mahiru's IP address to Guren. He orders Guren to meet and persuade Mahiru. Guren asks whether Kureto or Mahiru is stronger, and Kureto tells him Mahiru is stronger. Guren follows orders to immediately send a message to Mahiru.

After a moment, Guren's phone rings. He answers it, and Mahiru is on the other end. She asks to speak with Shinoa. Under Kureto's orders, Guren puts the phone on loud speaker. Shinoa reports that everything went as expected. She reports that Guren, Kureto, and Aoi are listening to their conversation. When she asks about their father, Kureto reports that he does not know she is missing. She calls him a liar and accuses Kureto of her crimes, saying he actually did everything instead of her out of jealousy. He says no one will believe her. After they talk for a bit, she mocks Kureto for prolonging their phone call to track her instead of hanging up immediately.

He says he found her, but she informs him that his special ops are already dead.

A student suddenly enters the room and reports that Kureto's conversation is being broadcasted across the entire school. Guren notices a sound-muffling talisman at the edge of the door.

Kureto orders Guren to end the call, but Mahiru says many students will die again. Kureto takes the phone and turns off the speaker. He says she is going to cause innocent deaths. She continues to place blame on him. Kureto orders a meeting to sentence the traitor, Mahiru, before hanging up.

Kureto asks Guren if he knew about any of this, but Guren deflects the question. Kureto decides that Mahiru single-handedly pitted the Mikado no Oni against the Hyakuya Sect.

Kureto thinks and talks some more. He says that Guren is a human, not a monster like Mahiru, and tells him to become his comrade. He wants to solve this situation with as few casualties as possible. Guren states he does not have a choice.

It is currently August 21st.

Kureto releases both Guren and Shinoa. They encounter Shinya in the gymnasium, and she shows off her interrogation makeup to him. She and Shinya joke around, so Guren walks off.

Shinya reports that the students listened to the broadcast in silence. Afterward, the students begin discussing the announcement.

Guren asks Shinoa how she feels about her sister. She says Mahiru would be the one most against her death while no one else would care at all. When Guren and Shinya both say they would be sad if she died, she says they only care about her as a replacement for her sister, whom they love so deeply.

Shinoa states it is clear Mahiru officially abandoned her today and will probably never contact her again.