Black Asura

"Black Asura" (漆黒のアシュラ) is the title of the sixth chapter of the Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga series, written by Takaya Kagami and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto.

Summary
Yu is given back his test grade on his spellcraft exams that were to determine how ready he was to wield a Cursed Gear weapon. He is shocked to find that he received a zero, and Shinoa promptly spots a chance to bully Yu. She snatches his papers and showcases his shame to the entire class. Kimizuki examines Yu's grade, and scoffs as he showed off his perfect scores in every subject from his own test results. This led to yet another brawl between the two, with Guren coming in around that time to speak with the teacher, Sayuri Hanayori.

The two stop their fight to talk to Guren, and get a straight answer about their Cursed Gear. Guren sneers, and unsheathes his sword, plunging it into the ground. Demonic power raged its way through the ground, causing most of the students to collapse onto the floor. The problem students, Shinoa, and Yoichi were the only ones still standing after feeling the power of Guren's blade. Yoichi was not affected and wonders why everyone was in such agony. This display was more than likely Guren's real reason for showing up, to see if Shinoa's claims about the boys' abilities were true. He then announces that the ones still standing will test for Black Demon weapons, right then and there.

Yoichi is called into question however, despite him having the highest resistance to demon power. Demons are manipulative beings that feast on negative emotions like greed, and are willing to snare meek and submissive hearts like Yoichi and bend them to their will. Guren contests that his potential still needed to be realized, as allowing Yoichi to continue to sit in class when his body is more than ready to house demonic power would be a waste, regardless of his frail and mousy personality. Yoichi also has someone to avenge; an older sister that was slaughtered by vampires when the boy was very little. He watches the entire thing while hidden under his bed. Yoichi grits his teeth and shouts his desires for a chance to take a Black Demon weapon so that he might have the power to protect his friends. Yu goes a little cold inside, realizing that the timid Yoichi is exactly like him underneath it all.

At long last, the fated hour had come for Guren's handpicked candidates to claim their Cursed Gear. They begin their ceremony underground, and the procedure seems rather cut and dry: they stand in front of the weapon they want, touch it, and have a mental battle with the demon for control. However, the Black Demon weapons house the most powerful and destructive demons, in a completely different category from the one Yu encountered previously from the axe he touched. These weapons were only for exceptional individuals, and it was time to see if Yu, Kimizuki, and Yoichi were among them. Knowing that Guren was there to cut them down himself if they became possessed, Yu eagerly stepped into a spell circle, touched the katana that was resting in front of him, and unsheathed it.

The room vanishes around Yu, and he was left with a familiar white horizon - he was with a demon at that moment. He is faced with a very familiar trick that the previous demon attempted to access: using his family against him. Yu barks at the demon to stop wasting his time with lame tricks and to submit to him. The demon skewers him, and realized that Yu had witnessed this trick before from another demon. The demon Yu contended with from that axe was known as a Myo-O demon, apparently the lowest of the low in terms of power and rank. Yu persists and the demon concedes that his strong desire was attractive qualities to demons, therefore agreeing to lend Yu its power. Although, the demon adds the pro quo that he has to abandon positive emotions like love in order to access the demon's power. Yu struggles, but convinces the demon that using his power to protect his loved ones is in itself a more greedy ambition than living for the revenge of lost loved ones. The demon agrees to his terms, so long as his heart remains strong. The moment his heart falters, the demon would take over completely. The demon introduces itself as Asuramaru, and notices how strange its new master is. Apparently, about ten percent of Yu is not human. Asuramaru warns Yu not to trust humans, whom likely altered his DNA through experiments. Before Yu can find out anymore, the demon vanishes in a billow of smoke, and he awakens in the underground chamber with his sword in hand. Kimizuki is there as well, with a pair of huge knives sheathed casually at his side.

However, the first thing they are commanded to turn their weapons on is Yoichi, sitting perched on a small ledge with a demonic composite bow. It appears Yoichi was possessed!

Chapter notes

 * Guren visits the class to finally give his chosen candidates the chance to take the test for the Black Demon Series for real.
 * The demon Yu made contact with previously was just a lowly worm compared to the members of the Black Demon Series.
 * It is revealed that at least a small portion of Yu is not human.
 * As of this point, Yu and Kimizuki have succeeded in taming their weapons. What are they going to do about Yoichi, though?

Characters
List of characters in order of appearance:

Gallery
Manga panels provide a visual overview of the events of Chapter 6 with depictions of the characters, Seraph of the End world and scenarios.