Chapter 73

Chapter 73 is the seventy-third chapter of the Dead Mount Death Play manga.

Official Blurb
The gang is gearing up to rescue the real Polka, but receive an unexpected visitor!

Short Summary
Night 1: Another secret connection is made in Shinjuku when Tena Sorimura has a nighttime rendezvous with someone whom he hopes will show him a 'beautiful flame' worthy of flying into.

Day 2: Tsubaki Iwanome and Kōzaburō Arase's investigation of Hosorogi's storage garage unearths documents related to the century-old arson case at the house the two detectives visited the night before. This promises to be a breakthrough in the mysteries surrounding the Sabaramond group. Meanwhile, in Youtoukorou, Lisa Kuraki declares that she and her mediators must prepare to watch over the Polka Shinoyama rescue mission planned for tomorrow.

Day 3: At 12:30 AM, in anticipation of the upcoming engagement with 'Polka', Takeru Shinoyama instructs Yochigi to put all available staff on standby throughout Shinjuku. While Taipei and Lemmings will play their roles, Bao has been incommunicado. Daytime proper finds Corpse God discussing the rescue mission with his companions. He is about to divulge his real name when Civil A. Sabaramond drops by, claiming he has come in the name of friendship.

Treating 'Polka' as a confused innocent, Civil explains that what powers Polka possesses are ones from Civil's homeworld, inherited through Polka's mother Kanon Shinoyama—or, Kanom-shellian Redraz(h)alf, a descendent of a family that possesses the Elemental Eye. Corpse God, shellshocked to hear the name of his own mother, exhumes one of Polka's most distant memories: that of Rozan Shinoyama and Corpse God's mother, smiling at their newborn son. Weeping, Corpse God wonders whether his mother was able to live out her last days on Earth in peace.

Synopsis
...Tena Sorimura, running late due to the earlier kerfuffle with the Bugs and Bastard Trio, arrives for a rendezvous at a certain meeting spot in Shinjuku. He offers an apology for his tardiness to a shadowy figure before asking them "what kind of fire are you going to show me?" Personally, Solitaire hopes hopes it shall be a "beautiful flame—one worth flying into."
 * Under the cover of night...

Tsubaki Iwanome, accompanied by Kōzaburō Arase, unlocks the storage garage mentioned in Miyabi Hosorogi's note to find boxes, binders, and papers stacked inside. The garage's contents appear to have been undisturbed since potentially Hosorogi's disappearance, which raises the question of what became of the storage contract. Iwanome idly supposes Hosorogi must have deposited the contract with someone trustworthy as he begins sifting through some of the papers, which he is gratified to discover is documentation pertaining to the century-old arson case—the one about the house the two of them visited yesterday.
 * Day

Via a brief flashback to the evening before, a man in a plain T-shirt approaches Iwanome and Arase as they are trying the house's door, startling them both. Iwanome informs him that they are policemen conducting interviews.

Thinking back on that man, Iwanome recalls doubtfully how the man had claimed he was managing the property on the owner's behalf. The owner, Arase reminds him, confirmed the man's claim; ultimately, the detectives left the scene empty-handed. Arase asks if Iwanome believes Hosorogi was pursuing Fire-breathing Bug, but Iwanome instead believes Hosorogi was pursuing the Sabaramond group. What is newly fact is that Hosorogi has preserved proof that Habaki—no, someone a century ago—erased or hid from the police records; with this new lead, Iwanome vows to investigate the truth of Sabaramond's name.

In Youtoukorou, Nishida's spirit watches Urai and other employees bustling about the premises. One of them, Koruto Ichinose, asks Lisa Kuraki about the agency's role in Takumi Kuruya et al.'s Polka Shinoyama-rescue mission that commences tomorrow night. Clarissa replies that the mediators shall only watch this time—though "watching over" their charges will still require preparation, as they must still act as mediators.

While waiting for an elevator with Yochigi, Takeru Shinoyama checks his watch to find it is 12:30 AM—meaning it is now technically the day of his planned engagement with 'Polka'—and then asks Yochigi for an update on the Bastard Trio's movements. Yochigi reports that the Trio (Civil A. Sabaramond, Soara Habaki, and Lulu) contacted someone resembling Phantom Solitaire last night, and hands Takeru a top-down photograph of four umbrella-carrying people at the scene. The identities of the umbrella-wielders remain unknown, says Yochigi, for the surveillance team was prioritizing tracking the Bastard Trio during the ruckus. The involvement of both fire and Solitaire reminds Takeru of Iwanome's visit about the Shinoyama estate arsonist, and, slowly, he ponders "could it be... Fire-breathing Bug?"

As he and Yochigi enter the elevator, Takeru instructs Yochigi to put all available staff on standby for the upcoming affair. He affirms that Taipei will accompany 'Polka' to the scene—which the Heilei will be monitoring—and he shall moreover send in Lemmings as well. That Bao is currently unreachable is concerning, he says, but nothing can be done on that front.

Daybreak finds Corpse God, Misaki Sakimiya, Sayo Shinoyama, Xiaoyu Lei, and Takumi discussing the rescue mission in the common area of the Abandoned Building. Corpse God believes that success hinges on how well he ensures the cooperativeness of Takeru et al. While Corpse God himself may not fully understand the Bastard Trio yet, all he essentially needs to do is convince Takeru that they pose a real threat to the Shinoyamas' existence; Takumi, catching on, extrapolates that Takeru could then theoretically 'prep' the hotel in which the Bastard Trio are staying, thereafter manufacturing an opportunity for the Abandoned Building squad to mount a rescue. Topics subsequently discussed include: who ought to handle whom in the probable event they entangle with the kidnappers, Xiaoyu's acclimatization to using his new right arm, and what to do about a certain involved journalist.

Sayo eventually raises a matter heretofore unacknowledged: a two-Polka-problem in which 'Polka' presently refers to both kidnapping victim and rescuer. If their group wants to avoid any confusion during the operation, she remarks, Corpse God ought to be referred to by something else. Misaki and Takumi chime agreement, whereas Xiaoyu mostly cares because 'Corpse God' in his opinion comes off as pretentious. Corpse God, remembering the brainstorming session his companions had for his title—wherein 'Corpse God' was the child-emperor's idea—admits he thought the same when the epithet was first conceived.

Xiaoyu suggests the obvious solution: using Corpse God's real name. Except, Takumi interjects, Corpse God once told them his name was not exactly pronounceable in Japanese. Suddenly hesitant, Corpse God confesses that he lied about the 'impossibility' of pronouncing his name at the time so as to get out of using it; to say his name is to remind him of 'bad times'. Still, he supposes he ought to share his real name with them now—but right as he is about to utter it, he is distracted when one of his remote eyeballs catches a glimpse of movement in a certain hotel. The real Polka, Corpse God announces, is on the move.

Upon checking her phone, Yochigi informs Takeru that Soara and Lulu have left the hotel. That leaves their companion, responds Takeru. What about him?

An ominous feeling causes Corpse God to whirl toward the door, behind which Civil's equally ominous voice is heard: "Hey. I came back to see you, just as I promised." Civil creaks open the door to add, smiling, "This time, as as a friend." Takumi exclaims that he did not see Civil entering via the front entrance, but this, Civil says, is explained by the fact he arrived via the underground passage—a passage that Corpse God has surely already discovered through divination. Corpse God cautiously requests that they retire to the other room, if Civil is here for a reading, but Civil insists he is here to be Corpse God's friend. After all, in this world exist so few people who can understand the two of them, or their powers.

Suspecting that Civil is still probing his origins, Corpse God questions what Civil is talking about. Civil takes this in stride by crooning that 'Polka' must have been so confused, growing up with such power, but such power is something to take pride in—for it is power from Civil's homeworld. Power that 'Polka' inherited from his mother. Kanon Shinoyama, Civil claims, is a descendent of an 'Elemental Eye'-possessing family—or, he should say, Kanom-shellian Redrazhalf.

Corpse God freezes, memories flashing at the forefront of his mind. The first is of the child-emperor responding to Corpse God's implied identification of himself as a Redrazhalf: the emperor recognizes the name as belonging to "that famous family with the Elemental Eye," then remarks on Corpse God's ears. "I guess it's true what they say about the blood of the long-lived species!" The second features Corpse God's father, who gripes that marrying into the Redrazhalf Family was not as lucky for him as he had first thought; he is no longer able to borrow money from his own family, which has "cut him off completely."

Civil obliviously continues by expressing admiration for Corpse God's managing to escape the elders, only to pause in bewilderment—halfway through asking how much Corpse God knows—upon noticing Corpse God's expression. Corpse God, who has always wondered why he was reborn in Polka Shinoyama's body, internally berates himself for not having sooner properly delved deep into Polka's memories. Doing so now unearths a faint, desperately distant brittle memory: one of the "name of the person I couldn't save in the end"; one of an infant's arm reaching out to a gentle-looking Rozan and Kanon Shinoyama.

With tears spilling down his face, Corpse God wonders if his mother was able, on Earth, to live out her last days in peace.

Trivia

 * Surname Spelling: Corpse God's surname's spelling as published in Chapter 70 is Redrazalf, lacking the 'h' of Redrazhalf as published in this chapter. Whether this is a typo or deliberate is unclear, given the English translation's history of inconsistent spelling.
 * Hosorogi's note: The translation of the ending of Hosorogi's note on page five differs from past translations. The ending's translation as seen on page sixteen of Chapter 58, for example, reads... "There's a signpost. The key is behind the first 383 mirror." This chapter's version is as follows: "There's a signpost in Lee's 383 mirror."
 * Corpse God alternatives: In the panel where Utsurojuza, Romelka Rimelka, and Easlies Swordfrail are suggesting monikers for Corpse God, the narration notes that the translation of the monikers is based on "the vocabulary and tastes of the real Polka's brain." Their respective suggestions are "Dark Place Engine," "Walking Hell," and "Eternal Heavenly Prison."
 * Kanom(-)shellian: It cannot be determined in the English release whether the hyphen in 'Kanom-shellian' is intended or whether it is a consequence of the narrow formatting limitations. If the latter, the name ought to be written as 'Kanomshellian'.
 * Elemental Eye: The English translation of the conversation between Easlies and Leuf Vellize in Chapter 64 does not make obvious whether or how the ability to see / hear Elementals is distinguished, if at all, from the Evil Eye. This chapter's use of 'Elemental Eye' suggests this ability is unrelated to the Evil Eye as its own distinct concept.
 * Long-lived race: The long-lived race 'Viveenya' to which Pani Guldmarg belongs shares at least two attributes with a common conception of 'elves' on Terra Mater: pointed ears and long lifespans. See Volume 6, Episode 6.
 * Race vs. Species: Despite the emperor's use of 'species' here, Vol. 6, Ep. uses 'race' to refer to the Viveenya (e.g. 'long-lived race'). A similarly interchange of the terms occurs between Episode 6 and Volume 5's Episode 5 with regard to dragons.
 * In Reartrospect: As this chapter implies that Corpse God is part-Viveenya to some degree, it is worth mentioning that illustrations of Corpse God when he was still flesh-and-blood have until now carefully concealed the tips of his ears.

Referbacks

 * Hosorogi wrote the note for Iwanome in Chapter 23.
 * Iwanome and Arase's visit to Takeru took place in Chapter 21.
 * Corpse God used the 'newly discovered' passage to transport Nishida's body in Chapter 41.
 * Corpse God claimed his real name was not exactly pronounceable in Japanese in Chapter 6.