Traitorous Allies (Episode)

"Traitorous Allies" (裏切りのミカタ) is the ninth episode of Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya, twenty-first episode of the first season, and twenty-first episode overall of the Seraph of the End anime series.

Synopsis
The power of angels forces Yu to stay alive, and Asuramaru lures him from their power. After reviving, Yu charges off to save Guren and battles Crowley. As Asuramaru begins possessing him, Kimizuki appears and captures Yu using Kiseki-o's Box. Yu is unconscious, and the soldiers retreat.

Mika waits for the Moon Demon Company and charges in to rescue Yu. When Shinya is about to kill Mika, Shinoa attacks Shinya and saves Mika instead. Her squad turns against the company, and Mika flees with Yu.

Summary
Yu cries out in pain, he grips his chest and Asuramaru speaks to him. He perches atop Yu’s sword and makes a point that Yu now obsesses over family in lieu of revenge. Yu only wants one thing now: power, power to save a captured Guren. Feeding on his desire, Asuramaru is more than willing to give him as much power as Yu wants, but explains to him that taking the pill was a mistake. The cursed gear supplements repress desire and exacerbates the curse dramatically. The other effect of the pill, and why Yu’s desire to gain power is for nothing, is because they can result in death and Yu has in fact died from the pill intake. Asuramaru observes that Yu’s death was instant, the excessive blood loss caused by his organs and heart rupturing because of the pill made it so. Even with Asuramaru’s regenerative ability, he cannot repair the damage.

Still with this consciousness, Yu questions if where he is now is the afterword, to which Asuramaru replies that might have been better. Yu did die, but he is not dead and Asuramaru rhetorically asks him why he thinks that is, and then answers it is because of those disturbing angels that are forcibly keeping him alive. Yu turns and notices amongst the quaint yet barren landscape lies a single golden instrument with a faint light shining upon it. Like Yu, Asuramaru is unsure what it is; only it looks like a trumpet. Yu is immediately mesmerised and begins crawling towards it. Asuramaru place a hand on his shoulder flatly pronouncing the thing is no good, he shouldn’t go for it, angels are worse than demons. They both hear Yu’s heart resume beating at which point Asuramaru can now repair Yu's damaged body from here. Nonetheless, Yu remains enthralled by the trumpet, and Asuramaru insists it better to accept him than that, he can fix Yu. Deeming being healed unnecessary, Yu only wants that and brushes Asuramaru off in order to retrieve this prize. Asuramaru wonders if there is no way to return Yu to his own self. He appears in front of and takes a hold of Yu’s outstretched hand for the trumpet, and then uses his other hand to stab through Yu’s chest. Since he can’t have the trumpet, Yu demands Asuramaru’s power. This has been given, and the three cursed gear supplements Yu ingested that heighten the effects remain in force. Yu can wield Asuramaru’s power for two to three minutes without becoming a demon, he withdraws his hand and informs Yu to wake up.

Yu is breathing again and opens his eyes, despite the concern of his squad, he slowly voices he’ll be back in a few. He rises to his feet and making use of Asuramaru’s power, under the enhancement of three cursed gear supplements, Yu uses this extraordinary combination of powers to race along the path back to Nagoya city hall where Guren has become a captive of Crowley. Yu’s perceptions to his surroundings are blurred by the effects he is experiencing as he bounds along with incredibly aggrandised speed.

Guren is being interrogated by Chess about how humans have managed to acquire powers they have, with Crowley and Horn also present. Guren jokes that a goddess gave it to him. Crowley senses the presence first, Yu, sword drawn comes crashing through the window and immediately attacks Chess. Crowley is there to block the strike and defend her. Crowley wonders out loud what this power is he's surveying before him, and whether Yu is really human. Yu fans out his Asura Kannon power, and in turn Crowley amplifies his strength as he instructs his sword to drink his blood in preparation for this new foe. Crowley attacks, Yu jumps and Crowley rapidly elbows him across the room. As soon as Yu lands, Crowley’s still superior speed enables him to punch Yu again, this time with the force to knock Yu into the wall. It didn’t finish Yu like Crowley asks and Yu returns the attack, Crowley stands ready and expeditiously disarms Yu. Before he can strike, Guren comes between them. Needing Guren alive, Crowley stalls and Guren takes the opportunity to tell Yu to hurry up and leave.

Yu asks how, with his power, and how far he has come, why its still not enough, to which Crowley replies it is simply because he is livestock. Yu quietly tells him to shut up. With his glinted eyes transfixed on Yu, Crowley continues nevertheless, apparently relishing explaining to Yu that he can fight all he wants, but livestock will only ever be livestock. An unabating Crowley persists in his softly spoken taunting as he keenly observes the red demon markings spread over Yu's face to a larger extent in his growing anger. With a final demand to shut up, Yu assails him again and Crowley notes with interest that Yu has gotten faster once more, though he is still firmly in control of the situation against a possessed to a greater degree Yu. Guren implores Yu that’s enough, and not to use any more power as the demon within could take over. Crowley welcomes this information as he now gathers that there is a demon involved in this scenario, before kicking Yu into a nearby stand. Chess and Horn land and pin Guren to the floor to prevent him from interfering with their battle. Yu himself also commands Guren to shut up; he is resolute that he is going to save him. Yu shares that Guren was the one to tell him to live and that it was he who administered that advice that they shouldn’t give up. Despite Yu’s resolve and bravery, even with his newfound power he is simply ineffectual to hold his own against thirteenth progenitor Crowley, who punches him to the ground.

Guren tries to get Yu to listen, he in fact has a plan for himself, but Yu refuses to give up and with the circumstances he calls for even more power from Asuramaru. With this resort, rather than capture him for Ferid, Crowley says he will kill Yu if he keeps this up. The harsh red markings stain Yu’s face ever more with his desire for power to defend Guren, his comrades and family. Despite Guren pleading with him to stop, the curse reaches Yu’s left eye marking the iris with a purple tinge. As well as that, for the first time Asuramaru is not within Yu’s mind, but is now kneeling there beside him, encouraging him and enticingly assuring Yu he can give him the power he wants. Asuramaru unwaveringly goads a receptive Yu into consuming himself with desire. Guren tries to appeal to him to not get swallowed by desire, to resist it, but Asuramaru finishes what he was saying, rousing him to embrace more of it until Yu himself becomes a demon. At this, with the left side of Yu’s face under the deep effects of the curse, a single black demon horn surfaces from the left side of his head to everyone’s surprise. Crowley’s stunned expression is short lived; he licks his lips in response to the partial demon morph Yu has undergone. Rather than simply benefitting from a demons power, Yu has now partly become a demon instead. Possessing pointed demon like fangs, and his left eye a piercing red, partial demon Yu is slyly up for one more round with the vampire.

Before either side can make a move, the battle between this vampire noble and incomplete demon is interrupted with the arrival of an unearthly levitating coffin, suspended by a glowing purple aura. Kiseki-o is ordered to open the devil’s coffin on the count of nine. The black coffin opens slightly to reveal a pair of shining purple eyes that eerily begins the countdown. Crowley has no idea what the thing is, but Guren recognises it and its unseen owner right away. Kimizuki jumps in the room with them and though he finds him, he too is shocked to see the state Yu is in. He immediately sheathes his connected swords and makes a beeline for Yu, seizing him before the nearby vampires can register what is going on. Upon acquiring him, Kimizuki throws Yu towards the coffin that has completed its countdown. It opens wide and out of it comes a huge gaping fanged corporeal mouth that reaches out to engulf Yu entirely and seal him within the coffin. Kimizuki lands with it when it falls on the ground as orange black magic cuts a hold around them through the floor. They disappear together, falling to the storey below away from the vampire nobles. Their escape is covered by the apparitions of Mitsuba and Yoichi with their demon spectres Tenjiryū and Gekkōin respectively appearing in the carved circular hole left in the floor. Crowley nonchalantly remarks this is such a pain, and Guren yells a final order to them to escape without dying.

In a moment of respite, the coffin is opened to reveal a sleeping Yu inside, returned to his normal state, demon horn free. Kimizuki lauds the successful plan and picks up Yu, saying he’ll explain to Mitsuba later. Kimizuki is strong enough to run with Yu on his back as he explains Kiseki-o’s ability to Shinoa. Shinya is waiting for them having found a path away from the arriving enemy reinforcements. In the sky multiple transport helicopters are fast approaching. Near them, Narumi finds them and proclaims they’re late, he tells them they are all heading to the rendezvous point.

In the middle of a ruined freeway, atop a vehicle, Mika stands alone. His solemn attentiveness to the road before him is disrupted only as he notices snow begin to fall. Mika looks into the sky to see it drifting gently down.

Within one of the helicopters, Krul is seated on her own gilded throne along with her own entourage of elite vampires in her company. She is informed by one on her right that they will soon arrive at Crowley Eusford’s. Krul evidently realises that she is being observed and glances over to the only suspect, where it is confirmed that Ferid is very much side eyeing her intensely and smiling mischievously.

From far down below, Mika knows these helicopters aren’t Lacus’s group returning, and so these ones must be the Kyoto group. With the pressure of time now truly upon him, Mika understands he needs to finish this before they arrive. Directly ahead of him, the remaining survivors from the vampire noble eradication missions are all running towards the airport, towards himself. Yayoi is the first to acknowledge him in their path and informs acting Major General Shinya there is an enemy ahead. With just the one, Shinya keeps everyone – the entire combined regiment moving forward feeling that they can kill a noble with them all. At the very back, Shinoa tells her squad to stay in their formation to protect an unconscious Yu being carried on Kimizuki's back.

Amongst a now hostile advancing army, right at the very end Mika pinpoints Yu, for the first time since seeing him again at the battle of Shinjuku. With limited time, and at last locating the one person he was living for right here, Mika resolvedly draws his sword and makes a sangfroid verbal declaration to himself that the humans are going to give him back Yu.

Mika contemplates an event from their shared pasts. He recalls their orphanage family member Kōta Hyakuya bidding them goodbye, departing to get lunch with the rest of their family, leaving Yu and Mika alone together reading. Mika took this time to ask Yu if he could escape from here, what would he like to do. At the time, Yu dismissed the question, saying the virus has spread to the outside world and annihilated the human race. But Mika was the one dreaming of the impossible, and asks if we could escape to the outside world with just them family, to a world without vampires, he asks Yu if he thinks it would be fun. Yu’s interest was piqued with ‘just us’ family and Yu agreed it does sound fun.

The desire to make Yu happy was the primary motivation for Mika’s plan that cost them everything when it was revealed to be a cruel trap. Now Mika has found the one family member he wanted to bring outside and free from the vampires, though Yu is with the humans who have taken him. Mika steps down to face the oncoming soldier battalions. He assures Yu he’ll try extra hard today, and then orders his sword to drink his blood. On the other side Shinya gives the order to eliminate the one vampire, and Mika orders his sword to drink more of his blood. The thick bramble like tendrils comply, needing all the power he can get. Fully prepared as he can be, Mika moves forward to retrieve his last, only and most important family member.

Mika unleashes a wave of red energy from his sword at the incoming soldiers, Narumi is the first to intercept and uses  Genbushin to generate his shield to weather the attack. Mika blocks, jumps over and evades the whole of Narumi squads attacks, bypassing the soldiers utterly by vaulting over them and landing in the middle of the entire army regiment. Maintaining momentum, Mika parries the present Imperial Demon Armies sword attacks, and continues ahead, largely ignoring them in favour of making his way to the only objective that matters.

Mika’s progress is only stalled when he finds himself surrounded by an obnubilating purple mist. Mito believes he is a vampire who has merely underestimated them. She and the others have no concept that the reality is that Mika was a human forcibly turned into a vampire against his will, and here and now not even attacking them, only working to rescue Yu. Goshi continues to deploy the mind altering mist from his cursed gear, his illusion spell affecting Mika's perceptions. The effect causes Mika to experience the sensation of seeing his legs melt, but he resolves to not be deceived. Through sheer will, he continues onwards and slices through the mist extirpating the effect. Mika takes another huge leap forward, Goshi is amazed but the rest of the Moon Demon Company, some of the best fighters the humans have, initiate physical combat. Sayuri resolves to not let Mika through and attacks, her spell tag cursed gear sword connects but breaks upon contact with Mika’s weapon. Shigure throws and lands two kunai on Mika’s thighs and he winces in pain. The final attack comes from Mito who attacks at the same time and kicks Mika downwards, sending him crashing to the ground. The rest of the units move in with the purpose to kill.

Mika doesn’t consider them; he is focused solely on Yu who is now so close to him. Resuming his strategy of disregarding all of these hostiles as he done from the start, Mika bolts and knocks away anyone, and multiple soldiers who get in his way. Though he deflects many of their attacks and despite his speed, his sole focus to reach Yu means that some soldiers manage to slash across him, but undaunted, Mika continues regardless. From Mitsuba’s perspective, they prepare for an incoming vampire who has bypassed everyone in his path, but closer up Shinoa seemingly recognises who Mika is and tells them to wait so she can confirm. Mika continues to fend off and deflect the swords coming at him from all sides and remains set on getting past them. Even as some of them hit him, he disregards the pain and perseveres as dauntlessly indomitable as before. Mika succeeds in making his way through the entire course of the army regiment, but Mitsuba, facing a vampire who can do that, steps forward in self-defence. She warns him to stay away but is promptly knocked aside unreservedly by Mika. Shinoa manages to block Mika’s sword and attempts to get though to Mika verbally, but Mika believing the humans have kidnapped Yu and are using him (and have in fact performed experiments on Yu) will not hear it and repels Shinoa as well. Mika reaches forward to at last reclaim Yu who is being carried on Kimizuki's back, but he grabs Mika's hand and angrily dictates that they are not handing Yu to him. In response, Mika immediately orders him out the way and violently head-butts Kimizuki to the ground.

At long last, a fulfilled Mika cradles Yu and is focused only on him. Mika smiles contently as he says to an unconscious Yu “lets go.” Out of nowhere Yoichi, unarmed, grabs Mika from behind grasping him tightly. Mika tries to shake him off but Yoichi says he can kill him if he wants, but if he's Yu’s family then they’re Mika’s family too. Mika states that’s nonsense and pushes Yoichi off him, in his current aggrieved and wounded state, Mika raises his sword but the delay has allowed Shinya to get close. From behind, Shinya impales Mika through his chest with the bayonet of his rifle. Yoichi is shocked, it being not what he wanted, and whilst Shinya is praising Yoichi, as he believed he was providing a distraction, Shinya prepares to fire. Shinoa’s demon, Shikama Dōji is instantly fired first, at acting Major General Shinya to get him and his weapon away from Mika, who falls the ground bleeding. Shinoa, scythe drawn stands in front of Mika to defend him from the Imperial Demon Army force. Mika questions what she thinks she’s doing, and Shinoa replies if anything were to happen to him, they would get in trouble with Yu later. Unexpectantly to all, Shinoa then says for Mika to take Yu and run away. The rest of the team are bewildered Shinoa would go to the extent of letting Mika leave with Yu, but none more so than Mika himself. The rest of the humans witnessing this deem the action as betrayal and with heightened tensions, immediately seem set on killing them along with Mika. Shinya, thinking nothing of Shinoa’s attack to defend Mika from him is only concerned at the instantaneous dissent between the soldiers and potential strife. The rest of the squad take their place beside Shinoa when even supposedly close allies such as Rika voice their opinion to kill them. They are united in their resolve to defend their friends, including Mika as a friend of Yu. Together they use their cursed gear to create some ground between them and any one with murderous intent advancing towards them. Mika stares at what they are doing, completely astounded: for him to hear of friends, in a world like this, from everything’s he’s been shown he didn’t think such a thing could exist. He remembers a fond memory of young Yu calling to him to come over and help him play with the kids, his orphanage family back when he was happy and had loved ones around him.

Mika can only hold Yu close and he thinks of this, before Shinoa tells him to hurry and take this chance to go. She directs him to join them at the airport when this matter is over and cleared up. Though Mika was close with his childhood friends, experiences and that these humans are different, he demands to know why he would join her. Shinoa asserts control of the situation and calmly tells him to shut up and get a move on, banking on her trust in him and that she’s counting on Mika. She carves a semi tunnel in the ground to allow Mika a clear way out from the aggressive military company around them, and carrying Yu, Mika takes her offer and leaves with him.

Shinoa considers to herself this is a short farewell before she see’s Yu again, before she is coldly knocked over by a soldier. Shinoa raises her arm in defence as the soldier moves to attack her as a traitor even when Shinya orders him not to kill her. It is Narumi who uses his trident cursed gear to stop the soldier’s attack. Though Shinoa is relieved at this intercession, Narumi slams his trident into the ground and sternly tells her that she has some explaining to do.

Right now time does not allow for any clarification, Shinya is aware that the enemies’ full reinforcements are here, and certainly enough, helicopters are now directly above them and deploy multiple vampires from them. They all land safely on the ground amongst them, and immediately set about slaughtering the human soldiers. Shinoa defends Narumi from one vampire prepared to kill him as swiftly as other vampires had done to other soldiers. The sudden ambush is devastating; Narumi looks round to see a vampire lethally cut down Yayoi herself right in front of him. Kagiyama manages to dispatch Yayoi’s murderer, but in doing so he too is killed as a vampire stabs him straight through the back. Their squad members are horrified as a second member of their team falls. With what is quickly turning into a massacre, Shinya orders a mass retreat since they’re all dead if a noble comes. They look up to see even more transport helicopters on top of them and a particularly huge swathe of vampires descend down through the air towards them all.

Mika, having made it away safely with Yu walks through a lone street as snow falls serenely around them. His blood is also dripping to the ground, as the wounds he sustained, including the deep one in his chest are not healing right. He carries an unconscious Yu on his back, leaving a trail of blood drops in his wake.

Characters
List of characters in order of appearance:

Gallery
Anime images provide a visual overview of the events of Episode 21 with depictions of the characters, Seraph of the End world, scenarios, artistic style among other areas.