Chapter 33

Chapter 33 is the thirty-third chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
On the Byandy Peninsula, two key players in Corpse God's past speak of their missing comrade. Meanwhile, the awkward showdown on the roof gets even more awkward...

Synopsis
In the Other World, Easlies Swordfrail and Romelka Rimelka—Corpse God's master and fellow former Imperial Court Sorcerer respectively—look over the ruins of Byandy Empire's capital and discuss the absent Corpse God. Easlies reflects on how her "foolish pupil" likely remained a boy "to the very end."

On the rooftop of the torture building in Shinjuku, Xiaoyu Lei immediately puts some distance between himself and Lemmings—who has just dropped between him and Tena Sorimura—as he recognizes Lemmings to be a monster and one of the three people the Heilei were ordered never to interfere with. He asks Sorimura if Lemmings really is "with [him]," and Sorimura claims that Lemmings was indeed the 'shock' Sorimura had warned Xiaoyu of. In reality, Sorimura does not know Lemmings personally; furthermore, Lemmings' presence seems to have him nervous. He certainly freezes when Lemmings turns to look at him—giving Xiaoyu an opening to throw three kunai at his back.

In Takeru Shinoyama's study, Yochigi and two other members of the Dragon King's Palace Agency stand at attention. One of the two women asks what Rozan Shinoyama's bodyguards know about Lemmings, and Takeru says he has given the Shinoyamas no details on any of his agency members—though he acknowledges that Lemmings may have been sighted at the fire. However, he assures his subordinate that he does not intend the agency to hurt fellow family members, and explains that Lemmings is under orders not to interfere with Rozan's bodyguards no matter what they might do to him.

Back on the rooftop, Lemmings literally shrugs off the kunai—which fall to the ground—and looks over at Xiaoyu before turning away. Xiaoyu, irked at the snub, extends his fingers into razor sharp bindings with which he snags Lemmings and binds his arms to his torso. Then, he squeezes; though the bindings cut through the hoodie, they do not cut through Lemmings himself. Upon seeing this, Xiaoyu electrifies the bindings—but Lemmings shrugs the bindings off, stomps towards Sorimura, and lashes out a hand which Sorimura manages to dash away form.

As Lemmings continues to stop his way, a much-rattled Sorimura wonders at how Lemmings could shrug off electric bindings and attempt to pummel someone in the same breath, and at how Lemmings has not even so much as flinched at the 'deadly current' running through him. Startled, Xiaoyu asks if Lemmings is not on Sorimura's side after all; with a nervous laugh, Sorimura says he considers everyone in his immediate vicinity on his side, including Lemmings and Xiaoyu both. He then suggests they all "talk this out."

Galled at the idea Sorimura has been "nothing but a goof" all along, Xiaoyu prepares an attack with which he intends to "blow" Sorimura and Lemmings "both away" in one go. In the next moment, a chill courses through him which stops him in his tracks. He wonders out loud what the feeling was while Lemmings and Sorimura stay silent, having felt it as well.

Outside the front entrance, Ranmaru Yatsu reflects on how Tsubaki Iwanome asked him and Danjō Tozawa to "scope out" Polka Shinoyama's residence; though Iwanome had said they were probably worrying over nothing, Yatsu considers the sight of a teenage girl wearing a raincoat despite a lack of rain a "wee bit disturbing."

The girl, implied to be Fire-breathing Bug in previous chapters, bows in apology and explains she and her father Toyomaru have been looking for their runaway family dog—who she thought earlier had somehow entered the building before them. However, as her father has since called her saying he found the dog, she expects he will be arrive soon; on cue, her father—a suited man carrying a folded umbrella—arrives and tells the two policemen he and his daughter have been out late searching for the family dog. When he asks why his daughter is wearing a raincoat, the daughter replies she put it on in case she would have to search tight spaces.

The Corpse God, who has been eavesdropping with the help of literal eyes and ears spying outside via necromancy, knows at once that the two were lying: he can detect no living dogs in the vicinity. Furthermore, he recognizes the colors of the souls of both the girl and the man (Sorimura) confronting Lemmings on the roof; he remembers them both as the ones who asked about the symbol; their presence here cannot be coincidence.

With this in mind, he concludes that "the sanctuary...will have to be expanded a little." The ensuing magic which ripples through the building causes a chill felt by all people who happen to be in the building's purlieu.

In the Other World, Romelka asks what is "so bad about remaining a child forever," to which Easlies replies that Romelka has misunderstood her meaning. Corpse God, she says, surpasses her in one area alone: sympathy. He has virtually no sense of independence and devotes all of himself to those he considers kin, which Easlies supposes may be why his "synchronization" with the dead is at a higher level than her own. She is certain that this is why he will take on blame so easily—and, when the "place where he belongs" is disgraced, is unable to show restraint.

In the Abandoned Building, the Corpse God casts spells with grim intensity. Tozawa and Yatsu continue conversing with the father-daughter pair on the street outside, unaware of the hands pressing at the windowpanes and forming out of shadows on the ground.

Trivia

 * English Translation Notes:
 * Chapter Release: The Yen Press translation formally introduces Corpse God's master as "Izliz Swordflail" on page two; however, on page three, Romelka addresses her as "Easlies-san." "Easlies" was the spelling used when Romelka asks her a question in the bonus short story accompanying Volume 2, which was translated by the same translator.
 * At the time of the chapter release, it is presently unclear whether 'Easlies' is an intentional spelling difference (e.g. if it indicates Romelka is pronouncing her name differently to Izliz) or if the spelling was an uncorrected oversight. Volume 3 uses 'Easlies Swordflail'.
 * Volume Release: The Volume 4 release has changed "Easlies-san" on page three to "Izliz."
 * Goof (Chapter Release): On page sixteen of this chapter's individual Yen Press release, a panel of the raincoat-wearing Bug is accompanied by the text, "Umbrella: Watch Out For Fires." There is no umbrella in the panel; the text is meant to be a translation of what is on the raincoat's back.
 * This has been fixed to "Raincoat: Watch Out For Fires" in the volume release.