Seraph of the End 4: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen

Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen (Book 4) is the fourth book of the Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen 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.

It is expected to be published as the second half of the second English omnibus.

Prologue
Guren Ichinose contemplates what he should do while facing imminent failure: 1) give up, 2) keep trying anyway, or 3) fight to fulfill your ambitions and risk losing everything else. Guren chooses option three. He is filled with desire and despair. In a small alley, he risks his humanity and grasps the demon weapon Noya. He senses the Apocalypse begin.

Chapter 1
Guren hears a voice calling his name and awakens in a completely white space in his heart. The demon Noya tempts him with power and approaches him. He chats about Mahiru and says that Guren will turn into a demon regardless of whether he accepts that power or not. Guren touches Noya and willingly gives up his humanity, leading Noya to mock him for making the wrong choice. He says it is unacceptable for a human to give up on his humanity while he is still human. Everything goes black, and power overwhelms him.

Guren wakes up with the sword in his and a motorcycle next to him. He hears war going on all around him but no longer feels any pity or empathy. His desires encourage him only to kill, and he mutters about needing a sheath to suppress the demon's will before getting onto the motorcycle.

Chapter 2
Shinya kills an enemy Hyakuya Sect member on the streets of Hachiko, Shibuya by cutting his throat after the assassin attacks him, and a witness begins screaming. The screaming attracts the civilians' attention, and they do not notice the corpse right away. Shinya grabs the witness and redirects everyone's attention to the body, starting a chaos and distracting everyone from him. Using his opportunity to escape, Shinya sneaks away and uses a spell to keep himself from being seen.

Other Hyakuya Sect members appear on the streets as madness ensues.

He calls Kureto and reports. Kureto orders him to come to school to lead his squad members. He says the situation is to kill or be killed but little is known about the enemy. Tenri Hiragi is assuming command to negotiate the situation. When Shinya says he no longer has any value since his fiancée betrayed them, Kureto tells him to make his stand with the Hiragi. Shinya is surprised that the state of war is bad enough to give merit based on achievement rather than on birth hierarchy. He asks Kureto if he as some kind of goal, and Kureto says he lives to guide the Hiragi and gain power and privileges for them. He sees people as empty shells molded by their environments. He says Shinya needs only to submit to him.

Shinya steals a motorcycle from an innocent passerby and drives through the chaos to First Shibuya High.

In the meantime, Mito is holed-up in the audio-visual room with her classmates begging for guidance behind her. She puts a chain and talisman on the door to form a barrier. There is a chunk of wood lodged in her right thigh from the battle. Facing death, she reflects on how she should have lived life differently.

The enemy breaks down her barrier and kills off the classmates Mito tries to protect. Recognizing her red hair as a marker of the Jujo family, they only capture her alive.

Goshi used his illusions to help Sayuri, Shigure, and Mito escape earlier, but he is now hiding in the stall in a girls' restroom. He is using a an illusion to make the door to the restroom invisible. He tries to figure out how to escape, but the window is too small for him to squeeze through. Goshi hates putting forth effort to do things and reflects on his superior younger brother, who is certain to become the next family head.

The enemy notices his illusion and breaks in, defeating Goshi easily. Goshi thinks even his brother would lose to them. He surrenders but then refuses to betray his comrades. The enemy reveals they have already captured his younger brother. One of the Hyakuya Sect members brings his knife down on Goshi.

The storyline jumps to slightly earlier to where Hyakuya Sect members intend to rape Shigure and Sayuri under Saito's command in order to empower the demon inside Guren. When they realize they were specifically targeted to use against Guren, they attempt to swallow poison that was hidden in their mouths, but Saito shoots a chain into each of their mouths and extracts the capsules before they can commit suicide.

They see Guren speed into the school on a motorcycle. The pair scream at Guren, telling him not to come. However, Guren notices them and draws a black blade.

He moves so quickly that he vanishes and appears on the roof, quickly slaughtering the Hyakuya Sect members with inhuman movements. Shigure notices Guren's sclera have turned black. The two aides notice something is off about Guren's behavior, and he warns them not to come near him. He struggles against his lust for violence and his lust for Sayuri's body.

Saito applauds Guren's success. When Guren tries to kill him, Saito uses illusions to mislead his attacks. He tells Guren to fulfill his desires and says that Goshi is in the fifth floor girls' restroom while Mito is in the audiovisual room. He says that Guren's success in this state will give him such pleasure he will truly become a demon.

Mahiru arrives and mentions that Guren had sex with her earlier. She does this to emotionally hurt Sayuri and Shigure and subtly weaves illusions around them in order to tempt them with the offer of a demonic blade. She goes after Sayuri first, but Shigure notices the illusions and tries to warn her.

Guren attacks Mahiru, and Mahiru throws the cursed gear at Sayuri. Guren protects Sayuri from it, but it gashes open his left hand, infecting him with even more demonic influence. His blood bleeds black. A single horn protrudes from his head, and his sclera become black under the demon's influence. He howls in pain.

Pleading with Guren and desperate to get him from Mahiru, Shigure begs him to kill her first. Then, Sayuri joins in.

Guren regains control and attacks Mahiru, stating it will not go as she plans.

Mahiru and Saito leave.

Sayuri and Shigure beg Guren to come with them to Aichi, but he runs inside the school to save Goshi and Mito instead.

Back in the present, the blade comes down toward Goshi, He struggles, and the blade cuts his chest but does not cause a fatal wound. He notices there are subtle illusions placed all over the school that are filling those present with the desire to kill. He then hears screaming in the hall, and a blood-coated Guren steps into the restroom and kills all of the Hyakuya Sect members inside.

Goshi notices something is wrong with him, and Guren begins asking for blood. Guren fights the urge to kill Goshi or to tell Goshi to run. Guren eventually retreats and continues slaughtering everyone in the hallways.

Goshi chases after him.

The demon's euphoria grows each time Guren kills people and saves his comrades. Guren continues struggling against Noya and is aware of Mahiru's spells increasing the desires of everyone in the school.

He finally reaches the audiovisual room and finds Mito crying in the hands of Hyakuya Sect soldiers. Mito feels relief, and Guren slaughters the Hyakuya Sect members. With tears in her eyes, Mito collapses into Guren's arms. Noya encourages Guren to kill, destroy, and rape.

Guren rips open Mito's blouse and kisses her. Guren manages to briefly break the demon's control and pushes her away while yelling at her to get away from him. Mito is shocked but notices Guren's horns and pointed teeth.

Guren struggles against the madness to kill and punches himself in his face. Mito says she wants to save him, but Guren warns her it is too late. The demon speaks through Guren and says he does not regret it. He says he became like this because he likes Mito. Guren says it is the demon talking. Then, the demon says Mito can save him by taking off her clothes and kneeling for him. He tells her to embrace him and attend to his needs.

Mito falls to her knees, and Noya overwhelms Guren. He approaches Mito and raises his sword. She says she will not resist if killing her will relieve his pain a little. Before Guren kills her, Goshi detonates an explosion tag on his bag. Using an illusion spell, Goshi escapes with Mito. Mito struggles, but Goshi helps her understand the situation.

Guren tells him they cannot come back and rescue him because they will die here.

Goshi and Mito escape to a balcony and jump to the ground. Guren chases them, struggling with the desire to kill them and the despair of being unable to save anyone. Guren's sword nicks Goshi's face but stops short of any serious damage. Guren takes control again and tells Gosh to not come back. Noya takes control again.

Shinya fires missiles of powerful talismans at Guren and allows Goshi and Mito to flee. The soldiers keep firing the talismans at Guren, and he retreats into the audiovisual room. The talismans cover the balcony and then the keep firing in order to seal him within the school. There are no signs of life because he already slaughtered everyone still inside the school.

Guren feels that he has been saved. Relieved with the idea that there is probably enough research done on the cursed gear by now for the Mikado no Oni to kill him, Guren sighs and the curses advances once again.

Chapter 3
Shinya arrives at the school after 11 p.m. Using a heat detector, he notices that only three people are left in the building. He watches Goshi carry Mito and escape while Guren, who is possessed, follows them. Shinya yells at Guren to distract them, and then his soldiers fire talismans at him to subdue the demon.

Sakae calls Shinya's phone and promises to give over the Ichinose's research on the demons in order to save Guren.

Kureto then calls Shinya and lies about going to Aichi.

Kureto then arrives at the school, and they plan to save Guren. They talk about what Mahiru is planning. They inject a female researcher with something, and Kureto says he will be ready in four hours.

Chapter 4
Guren sits alone in a dark classroom. Noya went to sleep about an hour ago, and it is now 2:40 a.m. Guren wonders if the evolution of his desires is part of the process of bonding with the demon.

Mahiru calls him, but he ignores her call. She texts him, warning him to pick up before she kills everyone preceious to him, and he finally picks up the third time she calls. He tells her he hates her, but she says she is the only one who can understand him now. She congratulates him on maintaining his consciousness much earlier than she did. She says mankind will progress the cursed gear research to about 70% but will then stop due to safety precautions. Guren tries to coax the human part of Mahiru awake, and she eventually says his name and then hangs up. He tries to call her back four times, but she does not answer.

Light enters the classroom as the talismans are removed, and Shinya arrives with Mito, Goshi, and nine other soldiers. They all have demonic blades equipped to them.

Noya wakes up, demanding murder.

Shinya, Goshi, Mito, and Guren struggle against Noya. Thanks to the cursed gear, their injuries heal unnaturally fast. Shinya tells Noya that the humans have already found a way to turn demons into their slaves. They fight, and Goshi uses an illusion to distract Guren while Shinya pastes a weakening talisman on Guren's neck and hugs him. The troops pierce Shinya and Guren with wooden stakes, and chains wrap Guren to Shinya from the feet on upward. Guren loses consciousness.

Guren meets with Noya in his mind. The chains bind Noya and weaken him, pulling him into the ground. Noya warns Guren that his allies will betray him, but eventually he says that he will patiently wait until Guren joins hands with him.

Over an hour later, Guren opens his eyes in the classroom but is too embarrassed to start talking right away. Shinya teases Guren about thanking him. Mito and Goshi are so relieved that they have tears in their eyes.

Guren asks about the cursed gear research and the Hyakuya Sect's movements. They chat a little, and Guren and Shinya reveal to Mito that they were fighting over a girl. Guren says he won, but Shinya says Guren got dumped afterward. Mito is shocked and then a little happy after finding out Guren got dumped.

Not seeing Shigure or Sayuri, Guren calls Kureto. Kureto says they are in the office and tells him not to call them before hanging up.

Guren goes to Kureto's office. Kureto says he overheard Guren and Mahiru's phone conversation. Kureto has a cursed gear weapon with him but has its power completely under control. He and Guren agree that they need to keep their rationality and numbers in order to fight stronger berserker-type opponents controlled by their cursed gear, such as Mahiru.

Kureto attacks Guren and overwhelms him, leaving Guren to wonder if Kureto specifically used charms on Guren's weapon to make him weaker than Kureto. Kureto says that all of the people serving Guren have been given the death penality, and Guren attacks him but is no match without unsealing his demon. Kureto says Guren's weakness is that he becomes shaken when anyone riles him. He says that he is actually protecting all of Guren's family and subordinates.

Kureto says he is protecting them because he wants Guren, but Guren believes Kureto is doing this to step out of Mahiru's control. Being a Hiragi, Mahiru would assume that all of the Ichinose would be killed, so he believes not killing them would be outside of her expectations.

When Kureto says Guren's subordinates willingly became guinea pigs for the experiments in order to stop Guren's demonic possession, Guren grabs Kureto's collar. Several soldiers surround them and draw their blades, but Kureto stops them.

Kureto reveals that Tenri Hiragi reached an agreement with the Hyakuya Sect, and both groups will work together on producing cursed gear. However, Mahiru holds key information and must be removed from the equation. She is far too dangerous.

Kureto orders Guren to kill Mahiru. If he does not kill her within one month, Kureto will have Sakae Ichinose killed. If he does not kill her after another month, Kureto will have 100 of Guren's subordinates killed.

Guren leave. Mito, Goshi, and Shinya overheard his conversation with Kureto and try to comfort him. When Guren denies having companions, Shinya disagrees and tells him to take responsibility and lead their squad. All three hold out hands to him. He takes their hands and calls them tiring. They laugh.

Epilogue
It is September 2nd. Mito, Shinya, Goshi, and Guren play video games at Guren's place while Sayuri prepares food. Unless Mahiru is killed, Sakae will be executed in eighteen days. Guren is spending time with friends in order to help resist the demon in his heart.

Mahiru comes to his apartment shortly after 8 p.m. and has black eyes. Guren faces her alone. He stabs her through the shoulder and jumps from the twenty-fifth floor with her. She does not resist. He says he does not have the will to stab her in the heart, but he can at least die with her. Her eyes return to normal, and she slows their fall with her sword. She throws Guren back into the wall to save him, and he is badly injured. She continues falling and breaks her leg, but it heals almost immediately.

Twenty soldiers attack Mahiru on the ground, but she kills them easily and leaves.

Guren returns to his apartment and examines the documents Mahiru left him. He reads about the Seraph of the End plan being conducted by the Hyakuya Sect and reads a list of children in Japan they are using.

Characters
List of characters in order of appearance: