Chapter 5 (Catastrophe)

Chapter 5 is the fifth chapter of the Seraph of the End: Guren Ichinose: Catastrophe at Sixteen manga.

Synopsis
In the ongoing selection exams, a series of explosions signal the arrival of the Hyakuya Sect. Guren notes they are beginning their attack on the Hiragi family two days, rather than from ten days time. Saito lands and is stopped short of killing Seishiro when Guren kicks him away. Shinya sees the extent of Guren's power and is threatened to keep it secret, then join him as they press ahead against the Hiragi family. While Saito feels they have the same goal, Guren will not serve under him and attacks with his Kujakumaru sword to inflict an injury. On why he attacked students and not Hiragi soldiers, Saito reveals a traitor has sold Hiragi family secrets to the Hyakuya Sect. Guren deduces it is not Kureto as suspected, rather it is Mahiru.

Summary
As the selection exams continue, a student is cut into and bleeds. As a student is led away on a stretcher, Guren wonders how is this different from the Hyakuya Sect who conducts human experiments. Shinya speaks to Guren on what happened yesterday, how Sayuri was hospitalized. In bed, Sayuri has Shigure seated beside her. While Shinya assumes Guren would want revenge against Seishiro, he intends to help him withdraw as Guren desires. First year class 4 Seishiro is against first year class 9 Guren. It is Shinya on stage however, and Goshi beside Mito hears it is because Guren withdrew from the competition professing that he cannot beat Seishiro. While he laughs of the mocking dialogue from Seishiro and laughter from others, Guren notices a red light and pushes Mito away.

A series of explosions leave students on the floor. The student who was Shinya's opponent finds that his right arm has come apart at the forearm and a girl screams at the scene. Assassins armed with blades descend from the sky and begin slicing indiscriminately into the students around. As Guren considers whether the time is now, as students die around him, the war between the Hyakuya Sect and the Hiragi family was said to begin in ten days, but it has only been two. Guren feels in the worst case scenario everything will be destroyed.

Saito descends to the ground and announces that everyone will die. Shinya asks who that guy is, while Seishiro says he must be joking to think he can attack the Hiragi family. The chains aimed at Seishiro miss after Guren kicks him out the way. After cutting chains apart, Shinya witnesses Guren's true power. In the smoke, Guren threatens Shinya to not tell anyone. With the circumstances having changed, if Shinya is serious about his hate for the Hiragis' then he should become his subordinate, and help him attack the man in the suit, Saito. After Guren details to Shinya how Saito means to attack the Hiragi family, it seems they all have common ground. Saito is happy to leave them in charge once the Hiragi family are dealt with, however Guren will not bow his head to the Hyakuya Sect, and has had enough of depending on people, then pretending to be weak.

Electing to attack, Guren strikes at Saito who reminds him such attacks will not work. Discerning his actual body, Guren deploys a spell tag alongside his sword Kujakumaru to turn the wound in Saito's shoulder into a tumor like mass. While Saito states he can withstand any curse made by the Hiragi family, Guren replies he is not a part of it. Guren demands to know why Saito attacked a school filled with kids, when the Hiragi family's main troops are not here. Feeling it cannot be helped, Saito resorts to a curse that involves snakes appearing in his eyes, only this is covered by one of Shinya's spell tags. Questioned again, Saito reveals there is a student here who betrayed the Hiragi family and sold all their secrets to them. The Hyakuya Sect's objective is to develop research materials with them.

When Guren asks Shinya if he is the one who sold the Hyakuya Sect the Hiragi family secrets, he replies it is not the case. While Shinya suspects it is someone like the president of the student body, third year Kureto Hiragi, Saito answers no, it was someone more exceptional than him. As they think who could really hate the Hiragi family, Saito reveals his mission is complete, both Guren and Shinya have been fully occupied by him. Guren pieces together that someone in the Hiragi family has the ability to sell the data to the Hyakuya Sect, and conduct experiments. That person is someone who harbors deep hatred towards the Hiragi family. In order for the collection of the data to be successful, Shinya and himself have been deemed as the two most important people to stop, and so Guren concludes the traitor is, Mahiru Hiragi.

Chapter notes

 * This chapter adapts from:
 * Catastrophe book 1 - chapter 7 (p. 128-147)
 * The attack on First Shibuya High School begins.
 * Volume 15 of the Owari no Seraph was featured at the end of the chapter.

Characters
List of characters in order of appearance: