Chapter 65

Chapter 65 is the sixty-fifth chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
When one of the Shinoyama guards makes his move, Civil reveals what his true identity might be…!

Short Summary
A flashback of the fifteen minutes leading up the confrontation depicts Kochou Eightport asking Taipei to be a test divination client, and Taipei receiving permission from Takeru Shinoyama. Once the narration catches up to the present, Taipei and Soara Habaki engage in a combative match. Witnesses include Civil, Lulu, Corpse God, and Misaki Sakimiya from the inside; and Bao from an external vantage point, filming what is visible through a window while on call with Takeru.

Civil receives a phone call while he watches the match; his countenance changes when he looks at the Caller ID, and he whispers something in Lulu's ear. Misaki urges a hidden Eightport to leave while she can, but Eightport cannot resist taking a photograph of the corridor. In that moment, Civil steps forward and blasts Taipei back with a blast of magic. This magical technique is one that Corpse God has seen before; while he stands stunned, one name comes to his mind: Lord Sabaramond.

Synopsis

 * Fifteen minutes ago...

With the Weekly Dry ' s Chief Editor busy, Kochou Eightport decides to find and convince a random passerby to take another 'test divination' for today's story. Near the Torture Building stands a man with an 'intriguing vibe'; approaching him, Eightport remarks that the man has been watching the building for some time, and asks if he is interested in Phantom Solitaire or the fortuneteller.

The man—Taipei—asks her to repeat herself, then calls Takeru Shinoyama to inform him of a journalist investigating Polka. Takeru instructs Taipei to accompany Eightport without revealing his true intentions. Although Taipei seems hesitant, Takeru points out that Taipei must have found something of interest in the journalist considering that he did not simply ignore her; furthermore, herein lies an opportunity for Taipei to better learn the Building's interior layout. Taipei tells Eightport that his boss has given him permission to accompany her.

Upon entering the Torture Building, Taipei and Eightport are struck by a chill in the air—one that Taipei perceives as 'sinister'. Patrons begin streaming doing the stairs and out the exit, passing the duo without comment, but Taipei believes the sinister feeling emanates from the place rather than the people; this chill he feels is akin to the "deep, dark sensation of death" he felt when in the presence of a complete t'ing-fu. Smelling its source nearby, so he ascending the stairs—oblivious to the spirit he walks through—while Eightport follows, fighting her instinct to flee.

Eightport catches up to Taipei on the third floor at the point where Misaki Sakimiya asks him whether he has business with Polka or Xiaoyu Lei—both are working at the moment. Again, Taipei sniffs the air. Cautiously, Eightport steps forward with three questions of her own: [how do] Taipei and "Sakimiya-san" know each other; why were customers exiting the building, and why is the building freezing. Misaki knows none of the answers

Spotting Soara Habaki around the corner, Taipei charges forward and slams his palm into her side, sending her flying back. He accuses her of being the attacker recently seen in multiple locations. Eightport, peeking around the corner, regrets having brought an apparently dangerous person with her and wonders how she will apologize to Polka and the others later; at the same time, aware this is a scoop unfolding before her eyes, she must try to burn what is happening into her memory.

Civil, followed by Lulu and Corpse God, exits the divination room to offer Soara aid. Noting Civil's "awfully good mood," Soara stands, stretches, and insists she will handle her 'own mess'—she thought she had strangled everyone around the building, yet 'a boss' has now appeared.

Meanwhile, Bao—filming a Torture Building window on the other side of which Taipei is charging—remotely informs Takeru that Taipei has made contact with the "attacker-cell phone thief. Round One begins." She explains how they can be certain of Soara's identity: The clothes of Heilei operatives, including the ones Soara strangled, are soaked in a special perfumed oil so strong that its scent should still cling to Soara even after bathing. With Taipei's animalistic sense of smell, Taipei is capable of tracking such scents for ten days if not more. Takeru then asks why Taipei has launched an offense; according to Bao, Taipei's excuse is that he is eliminating enemy targets who have breached acceptable distance from Sayo Shinoyama and company. This rationale, Bao opines, is "more base than an animal's"—for Taipei desires a death match against a powerful opponent.

Such a match now proceeds in earnest, so vigorous a commotion that Sayo, Xiaoyu, and Takumi Kuruya can hear thumping noises from the Building's communal area. Takumi asks what is happening with alarm, Sayo wonders as to what sounds she is hearing, and Xiaoyu—himself privately wondering what Taipei is doing—insists Sayo not leave the safety of the room. Corpse God's thoughts are similarly of the others' safety as he watches the fight—of the clients, already safely exited, and of Corpse God's companions; provided Takumi stays inside the room, there should be no additional trouble. Polka Shinoyama, nestled in Corpse God's hood, startles as Misaki leans over to ask whether they will lend "either one of them" their aid. Between Soara and Eightport, the latter of whom is trembling with panic, Corpse God deems the latter more vulnerable and tells Misaki to facilitate Eightport's departure.

That Taipei can keep pace with Arahabaki is an impressive feat in Civil's view, and, when Taipei knocks Soara down with a punch to her face, Civil's main thought is that the Shinoyamas have 'fine pawns' on their side. Civil's cell phone rings; when he checks the phone, his countenance changes. At Lulu's quiet question, Civil chuckles low and whispers into her ear.

Misaki urges Eightport to leave the dangerous scene. Jittery with nerves, Eightport nevertheless raises her camera to take a single shot. The camera's flash illuminates the corridor in the same moment Civil steps forward—emerging from the mass of ocular spirits—to blast Taipei back with a burst of magic. Smiling, Civil asks whether the move he just performed would be called a sunkei or a hakkei in Japanese.

Civil's "way of using magic" is one that Corpse God recognizes—one from the Other World, one practiced under the Byandy Empire's banner, one that summons a single name to his stunned mind: Lord Sabaramond?

Trivia

 * The translator's explanation of sunkei and hakkei is as follows: "Sunkei and hakkei both refer to a Chinese style of martial arts known as fa jin that involves imbuing massive explosive energy into a strike at the very last second. It's sometimes called the "one-inch punch" in English."