Chapter 59

Chapter 59 is the fifty-ninth chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
Solitaire's back, and he's teamed up with another high-profile troublemaker! Though he doesn't seem to quite know what's going on...

Synopsis
Upon returning to Youtoukorou with Lisa Kuraki by morning's light, Corpse God reunites with Misaki Sakimiya and Takumi Kuruya, the latter of whom is receiving medical treatment for his leg wounds from Kazami. Corpse God offers to use a flesh-restoring spell when Takumi yelps in pain, but Takumi—once Corpse God clarifies he would have to make part of Takumi's body a 'zombie' first—declines for the time being, saying he will gladly take up Corpse God's offer if he is ever mortally wounded.

Misaki plucks Polka Shinoyama from Corpse God's hoodie before engaging Takumi in conversation. Corpse God meanwhile withdraws into his own thoughts: Takumi's injuries are proof that something must change, that Corpse God must be far more proactive in his quest for a peaceful world than he has been thus far, if he truly desires it. One of his next "determined steps" toward that end, he concludes, must be to delve "much deeper...into this world."

Elsewhere, Phantom Solitaire skeptically considers his newfound captive—Higuro—and then pulls one of the onlooking Fire-Breathing Bugs to the side. Having initially been excited at being summoned by the Bug for "the first time ever," he now questions whether the Bug is not in fact attempting to get him arrested for kidnapping—though such a ploy would not entirely upset him, depending on who the captive is. Solitaire then rambles at length about what he would do in the hypothetical scenario he kidnapped someone with "truly terrifying powers," such as the minkiruawa yōkai.

This excursus washes over Higuro, who not only cannot understand what Solitaire is talking about but suspects he does not want to, privately deeming Solitaire on a "totally different plane" from him [...] "a connection [he doesn't] want to connect with." Solitaire soon puts joking aside in favor of deducing who his captive might be, such as an 'innocent citizen who accidentally learned Fire-Breathing Bug's true identity—or perhaps a friend of Habaki or somesuch relation.

As Higuro stiffens, Solitaire procures the scrap of skin bearing the symbol and continues, "In other words, he's a party concerned with this symbol." He remarks to Fire-Breathing Bug that the Bug's approach thus far—burning every single person related to the organization"—will no longer be tenable the day the organization goes public, for the situation thereafter would be drastically different. Presuming that Fire-Breathing Bug must have realized this on their own, Solitaire further theorizes that the Bug's new approach is to stamp out the 'root' of the organization, and this is a step toward that end: dragging Habaki and the captive to 'the forefront' and relying on Solitaire's abilities in the process.

Fire-Breathing Bug grudgingly concedes Solitaire's deduction is spot on as expected, unaware that Solitaire was in actuality still joking; though Solitaire is not about to admit he was accidentally correct, he privately wishes his alien/yōkai fantasy was right instead. Higuro in turn privately grapples with a dawning realization that, although the dirigible incident looked unplanned, everything seems to have been 'thoroughly calculated' from the beginning.

Nevertheless, Higuro plays oblivious and asks if they could let him go home, claiming ignorance as to why he has been involved. Solitaire retorts that it is obvious Higuro is involved with all the troublemakers; moreover, he smells like someone who has killed countless people. Higuro requests proof, pointing out that kidnapping an ordinary citizen—assuming Higuro is truly one—would be a blow to Solitaire's pride, but his first mistake is assuming Solitaire's pride escaped prison; his second mistake is overlooking that Solitaire is a constant bother to ordinary citizens. Solitaire cites his abduction of Prime Minister Kubikigawara as an example, recalling how his actions caused numerous companies' stock prices to nosedive.

In the offices of one such company—Shinoyama Security—Takeru Shinoyama takes a seat at his desk and informs Taipei and Bao that Solitaire has apparently infiltrated the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's headquarters. Shinoyama Security may need to become 'involved' again should the media learn of the incident, so Takeru instructs his subordinates to prepare for possible intervention and to monitor their stocks in the meantime.

As Takeru opens his laptop, he raises the additional matter of movement being spotted in Polka's building. Taipei reports on what transpired: After Lisa and Polka's departure from the Torture Building, three people returned to it: Polka's female companion; Sayo Shinoyama's bodyguard, missing a prosthetic limb; and the informant Takumi, wounded—perhaps the victims of an encounter with an enemy force. Though Taipei dismisses Takeru's opinion he is being too overformal when referring to Xiaoyu, who cut ties with the Lei Family years ago, he is willing to credit Xiaoyu as being "rather capable."

Recognizing that the enemy must therefore be extremely capable in turn, Takeru says they will need to discern the extent of this new enemy's reach—but Taipei warns the enemy may already be reaching out, if not having already made a preemptive attack. Here, Bao reports that several of their lookouts surrounding the building were attacked overnight: an unknown person or persons knocked out each lookout from behind, then proceeded to take their cell phones. Taipei adds that his bank account has been completely drained of his savings, which raises the possibility the attacker is also targeting individuals. Takumi orders Bao to investigate.

On the rooftop of the Torture Building, Xiaoyu checks the obscenely large sum of money his sister Imbi transferred to his account and rereads the text she sent about 'proving' her love for him via the bank transfer. Preoccupied by the more pressing issue of his right arm being literally taped together, he places a video call to Rozan Shinoyama only to learn that Rozan has already heard his arm was ruined. This does not overly surprise him, as he reasons Rozan probably heard from one of his lookouts monitoring the Building. It does surprise him that Rozan also knows the Agakura were responsible, or, rather, that Rozan's surveillance team somehow saw that much.

Rozan expresses simple relief that everyone is alive and praises Xiaoyu for successfully protecting everyone. When Rozan asks after Xiaoyu's limbs, a flustered Xiaoyu answers that his knee will endure but his arm is destroyed to the point where he will have to manage one-handed for the time being. With Xiaoyu evidently ashamed to have ruined a limb his beloved master gave him, Rozan discloses that "the guy behind [him]" has said he will handle the handless problem.

Xiaoyu turns to find the "fake Polka"—Corpse God—standing by the rooftop entrance. His thoughts race: he failed to sense the impostor's approach whatsoever, something that never happens; he has no idea when the impostor joined him; his failing to sense the other's approach could have gotten himself killed.

When the fake Polka says Misaki told him that Xiaoyu saved Takumi, Xiaoyu smiles his butler's smile and claims he did so solely to protect Sayo from the threat of potential harm—after all, his job is to protect the Shinoyamas. When Polka request Xiaoyu's permission to prepare him a new arm, the smile drops; Xiaoyu finally clarifies that it is because of his job that he does not trust him.

Corpse God, remembering the hidden bodyguards in Rozan's parlor, slowly affirms that Xiaoyu must have been the bodyguard under the floorboards; he could tell at once thanks to the unique color of "the soul enveloping [Xiaoyu's] limbs," so he has known all along Xiaoyu was aware he was a fake. He promises to explain his remark on souls along with 'everything else' later, though he expects Xiaoyu will not understand—especially not when Xiaoyu cannot trust him.

Thus, Corpse God expresses a new wish: for the two of them, just the once, to have a "serious bout."

Referbacks

 * To Chapter 23, when Solitaire stole the scroll and Fire-Breathing Bug burned the subsidiary.
 * Solitaire's abduction of the Japanese Prime Minister was previously mentioned in Chapter 19 and Chapter 49. The consequence of Shinoyama Security's stocks dropping was mentioned in Chapter 23.
 * To Chapter 18, when Rozan dismissed the hidden bodyguards at Corpse God's request.