Meeeeeeephyyyyyyyy, what are you planning, what’s that damn key about? The key to go search Yukio, to knowing the truth?
For real though, I was rereading back a few chapters and, even if he’s a huge asshole, I just love the way Mephy plans stuff ahead, there is really no equivalent to how great a chessmaster he is, I mean…
you’re literally the king of time bby, of course you said that to piss him off and make him go to the Illuminati.
Because Yukio going to the Illuminati would obviously force Rin to ask about the truth in order to bring his brother back (since Yukio is obsessed with understanding why Shiro didn’t kill them), having to destroy the Illuminati who will want to keep Yukio in the process…
Because the Illuminati and Lucifer want Satan to also be able to materialize in Assiah, something that will easily happen or so Satan seems to think, probably because Mephy made some kind of pact with him about stopping his destruction of Assiah during the Blue Night in exchange for being given Rin as a vessel once he’d be ready:
Except that Mephy is obviously lying to his “father”, because he’s not on Satan’s side since he doesn’t want to see Assiah or humankind completely annihilated by Satan:
Mephy loves his human toys
However, Mephy bullshitting Satan is probably going to explode back to his face at some point, not that he’s not already expecting it. I guess that’s why he said…
because he too will surely have to fight at one moment or another (as Rin’s backup against Lucifer & the other Baals on his side maybe?) and maybe that’s why Sensei once implied we’d see Mephy’s demon heart in the story.
It’s probably going to be one hell of a fight if/when it happens (anyone remember him getting angry at Rin in ch66?) and I’m totally looking forward to it. 😀
So yeah, Mephy’s planning is top-notch but what particularly gets to me is the fact that, by doing all that, he’s precisely proving us and Shura wrong when it comes to the whole “demons can’t understand humans because they have no feelings”…
…because he explained before that being a Baal and losing their vessel was the worst thing ever for them and yet, he’s been prepared to go all out and to sacrifice even his own vessel at some point (”I cannot abandon this body just yet”, as if foreshadowing that he would have to later)in order to make sure that Assiah would survive Satan.
So yeah he may be an asshole, a trickster and sees everyone as his toys, but he’s Assiah’s biggest ally alright.
…Anyway, so what is this key around Rin’s neck about, Mephy? I can’t wait to know.
Ahhhhh I haven’t read ch1 in so long I totally forgot, thanks for bringing that up!
okay so, more accurate question becomes WHAT DID YOU HIDE MEPHY?!
Frankly I’m wondering if it might not be for opening some sort of parallel dimension/timeline that Mephy created
(like where Neuhaus is), in order to let Rin find out by himself about what happened during the Blue Night.
I mean, obviously Mephy was only going to tell him about his origins once he’d have broken the sword/seal over his demon heart in Gehenna. …Oh, maybe it can also take him to where Yuri was buried by Shiro or Mephisto?
Or maybe it just has to do with Rin’s powers somehow… Anyway, thanks for reminding me! 😀 I guess we’ll see next month.
Meeeeeeephyyyyyyyy, what are you planning, what’s that damn key about? The key to go search Yukio, to knowing the truth?
For real though, I was rereading back a few chapters and, even if he’s a huge asshole, I just love the way Mephy plans stuff ahead, there is really no equivalent to how great a chessmaster he is, I mean…
you’re literally the king of time bby, of course you said that to piss him off and make him go to the Illuminati.
Because Yukio going to the Illuminati would obviously force Rin to ask about the truth in order to bring his brother back (since Yukio is obsessed with understanding why Shiro didn’t kill them), having to destroy the Illuminati who will want to keep Yukio in the process…
Because the Illuminati and Lucifer want Satan to also be able to materialize in Assiah, something that will easily happen or so Satan seems to think, probably because Mephy made some kind of pact with him about stopping his destruction of Assiah during the Blue Night in exchange for being given Rin as a vessel once he’d be ready:
Except that Mephy is obviously lying to his “father”, because he’s not on Satan’s side since he doesn’t want to see Assiah or humankind completely annihilated by Satan:
Mephy loves his human toys
However, Mephy bullshitting Satan is probably going to explode back to his face at some point, not that he’s not already expecting it. I guess that’s why he said…
because he too will surely have to fight at one moment or another (as Rin’s backup against Lucifer & the other Baals on his side maybe?) and maybe that’s why Sensei once implied we’d see Mephy’s demon heart in the story.
It’s probably going to be one hell of a fight if/when it happens (anyone remember him getting angry at Rin in ch66?) and I’m totally looking forward to it. 😀
So yeah, Mephy’s planning is top-notch but what particularly gets to me is the fact that, by doing all that, he’s precisely proving us and Shura wrong when it comes to the whole “demons can’t understand humans because they have no feelings”…
…because he explained before that being a Baal and losing their vessel was the worst thing ever for them and yet, he’s been prepared to go all out and to sacrifice even his own vessel at some point (”I cannot abandon this body just yet”, as if foreshadowing that he would have to later)in order to make sure that Assiah would survive Satan.
So yeah he may be an asshole, a trickster and sees everyone as his toys, but he’s Assiah’s biggest ally alright.
…Anyway, so what is this key around Rin’s neck about, Mephy? I can’t wait to know.
Why Mephisto is so willing to tell Rin everything, but not Yukio…
Throughout the series we have followed Yukio and Rin’s actions and seen who they are. Basically, though it’s well hidden, Rin is much more mature than Yukio is. Yukio wants to know the answers to everything and cannot accept things he does not like. He places himself in danger and has the urge to be better, stronger than everyone else, and is rather bitter when he is not.
This makes him very child-like:
Rin, however, understands he can’t know everything (though he wants to) and has the capability to accept things he doesn’t like. He tries to subvert danger, but neutralizes it when it occurs in a way that is sensible; at least, to him (see: Rin saving Kuro, Rin handling the Impure King, Rin with the Kraken, Rin with the 7 mysteries of True Cross, ETC). He tries to solve problems. He may feel inferior to others but instead of being bitter (like Yukio), he strives to better himself.
This makes him adult-like.
Mephisto has recognized their behaviors. He knows Yukio is very childish and bratty, and therefore doesn’t believe he deserves the answers he seeks. He is, in Mephisto’s eyes, unworthy because he is childlike. Mephisto views Rin as more mature, but he’s also recognized how static Rin tends to be. He’s been subtly pushing Rin to ask questions because he feels Rin is deserving of knowing the answers. Hence why he’s so willing to tell Rin everything and why he was so excited when Rin finally asked.
Mephisto is certain that Rin is more mature than Yukio. Why? I’ll explain.
Mephisto is clearly an omniscient character. He is aware that we are reading the story. Since he frequently breaks the fourth wall, is it so forward to assume that the anime was actually an alternate universe that Mephisto spectated over? Perhaps Mephisto has known from the start how unstable Yukio could be, since he’s already seen it before. He watched Yukio try to esponge the world of demons using his own brother as a sacrifice, unable to accept his brother for what he is. He’s seen how utterly ruthless and stupid Yukio could be. He’s seen Satan possess the moron.
Perhaps he was so unwilling to tell Yukio anything, not only because he’s an asshole who just wanted to be a catalyst for the end of the world, but because he knew how Yukio would react all along?
Why do these things always come to me while I’m making food? O.o
We all know Shiemi gets exhausted when she overtaxes her powers (Shemihaza nephilim or something similar), and this time, she even got a nosebleed.
What if every time she creates life with Nii-chan as a conduit (he provides the earth) that she uses a bit of her own life force to do it. That would make things EXTREMELY dangerous for her to continue using them in such a way and being an Exorcist would quite literally shorten her life. She gets taxed far more than any other tamer when using Nii-chan to grow plants. (Link to larger version of image below.)
Altered the image used to illustrate better.
I’m positive her mom has ulterior motives, and this is a little out there, but maybe THAT’S what she was told to her and it scared her into quitting, on top of being HUGE info [Nephilim]. She’s too far removed from being a “living concept” (as Mephisto described demons)
and is a flesh and blood creature, there is no endless source of power. She can’t generate life from nothing and it has to come from somewhere… herself.
And just like how Yukio was concerned that Rin was using his flames too much (at the cost of his humanity), her power use comes with a cost, too. Her life. Her version of being “consumed by the flames” would be dying. That would definitely put the brakes of her becoming any sort of super-badass, godly Exorcist.
That would also explain why she’s so torn about her decision but still doesn’t hesitate to use it to save people, and also explain the reason for her to not tell her friends about why she’s quitting… shame. She’s being “selfish” in wanting to live, and for her, that would be against everything she stands for: being selfless.
I need to stop editing after posting initially. :S
is either meant in the sense that she’s super brave, strong, amazing and a true friend who doesn’t give a shit about Yukio being possessed by Satan, so the dude is impressed
or it’s meant to be a throwback to the fact that she’s not a regular human/exorcist.
Also maybe I’m reading way too much into this, but since Amaimon was watching over Shiemi several chapters ago when her mom told her that super important thing and she was very upset…
I wonder if him hitting her was not because she was interrupting Satan but rather because Amaimon didn’t want Satan to attack her?
If you remember the charts about Gehenna’s power structure from vol19, Amaimon considers himself to be neutral but follows Mephisto’s orders because he owes him. So, since I still doubt that Mephisto is really Satan’s ally considering that he seemed to be against Assiah’s destruction, I wouldn’t be surprised if Amaimon was supposed to be keeping an eye on Shiemi during the current crisis, by Mephisto’s orders.
After all, Mephisto releasing Amaimon at the beginning of this arc and making him a student in Shiemi’s class is probably not a coincidence either. So, all that to say that maybe that’s why Amaimon made her stop, because
he is supposed to keep her out of harm’s way but he isn’t strong enough to beat Satan if Satan/Yukio had decided to hurt Shiemi for getting in the way.
As I said though, maybe I’m reading way too much into this. xD Anyway, I loved this chapter!
Oh, great points! It’s true I only considered the situation for Shiemi, but yeah maybe you’re right and Amaimon’s intervention can be read as useful for both Rin and Yukio too, but useful as in “according to Mephy’s plans” surely. xD
I just meant to insist that Amaimon was probably tasked with keeping an eye on Shiemi in particular, and seeing Mephy, there must be a reason for that. He’s the perfect guy for the job anyway since his behavior (whether it was meant to protect her or not) didn’t particularly shock anyone considering that, you’re right, he’s generally not a nice guy (hence the reactions of Suguro and Izumo). xDD
is either meant in the sense that she’s super brave, strong, amazing and a true friend who doesn’t give a shit about Yukio being possessed by Satan, so the dude is impressed
or it’s meant to be a throwback to the fact that she’s not a regular human/exorcist.
Also maybe I’m reading way too much into this, but since Amaimon was watching over Shiemi several chapters ago when her mom told her that super important thing and she was very upset…
I wonder if him hitting her was not because she was interrupting Satan but rather because Amaimon didn’t want Satan to attack her?
If you remember the charts about Gehenna’s power structure from vol19, Amaimon considers himself to be neutral but follows Mephisto’s orders because he owes him. So, since I still doubt that Mephisto is really Satan’s ally considering that he seemed to be against Assiah’s destruction, I wouldn’t be surprised if Amaimon was supposed to be keeping an eye on Shiemi during the current crisis, by Mephisto’s orders.
After all, Mephisto releasing Amaimon at the beginning of this arc and making him a student in Shiemi’s class is probably not a coincidence either. So, all that to say that maybe that’s why Amaimon made her stop, because
he is supposed to keep her out of harm’s way but he isn’t strong enough to beat Satan if Satan/Yukio had decided to hurt Shiemi for getting in the way.
As I said though, maybe I’m reading way too much into this. xD Anyway, I loved this chapter!
And like everyone else, focused on the heart wrenching, “It doesn’t matter. I have no ties to this place.” But the important panel is the first one.
“You don’t get it! I’ll have Mephisto tell you the truth!”
This is significant for two reasons:
1) Rin believes that Yukio didn’t shot Mephisto. We know he didn’t because the angles were all wrong. Yukio couldn’t have shot Mephisto from where he was standing on stage, but Rin doesn’t know that. He just saw Yukio getting tackled on TV. He doesn’t know anything else. Why else would he take him to Mephisto unless he honestly believes he didn’t shoot him.
2) Mephisto is setting Yukio up! He wanted Yukio to join the Illuminati! It’s part of some kind of Batman Gambit to fuck with Lucifer (and/or Satan, who may or may not be on the same side as Lucifer. Look it’s complicated, but we need to focus!)
I was rereading the last chapter again earlier this week and…
While Azazel’s nephilim blood line disappeared, I think we can trust Lightning’s words that Shemihaza’s and Armumahel’s are still alive and represent the Grigori.
Last time, I conjectured that maybe Shiemi was one of Shemihaza’s nephilims (see here), with maybe her mom being the “current Shemihaza” which would explain why she said…
Because if the order always needs someone from Shiemi’s family to take on Shemihaza’s position, there is a lot of chance they cannot choose to do anything else in life, which is why Shiemi resigned and ended up saying she didn’t want to become an exorcist anymore.
And by “inheriting the exorcist shop” she means also inheriting the Grigori position once her mom will have to be replaced?
Anyway, these are my current thoughts on Shiemi. Which leaves Armumahel and their nephilim blood line.
The issue is the same as with Shiemi: Mephisto probably knows about Shiemi’s origins and if she’s indeed related to Shemihaza, and so there is a possibility he also knows who Armumahel’s current nephilims are.
Speaking of which, we still don’t know a lot…
…about Takara. In fact I think that what’s above is basically all that we know, besides the fact that his family…
is “owned” by Mephisto.
Ah and one other thing, does anyone remember his fight against Shima?
While I still can’t say if the puppet is a demon or not, the fact is that the “Takara” we know is in fact this puppet because the real Takara Nemu carrying the puppet is sleeping almost 100% of the time in order not to trigger… an apparently massive and mysterious power.
So, what I’m saying is, what if Takara Nemu is one of Armumahel’s (the Emperor of Nothingness) nephilims? After all his eye…
was emphasized on specifically back when he “woke up”, the same way Shiemi’s eye…
was emphasized on in the last chapter.
TL;DR
Azazel has no nephilim alive so he has a random dude becoming the Grigori when needed
Shiemi’s family could be Shemihaza’s nephilims
with Shiemi’s mom as the current Grigori since her grandma’s death?
and Shiemi just learnt about that and resigned to the idea that she can’t choose a different future.
Takara Nemu could be one of Armumahel’s nephilims?
which would mean the current Grigori is his dad/grandfather/someone from his family?
and Nemu has to stay asleep otherwise he triggers a massive and destructive power?
And as always Mephisto is definitely aware of both their origins
that’s probably why Amaimon was spying on Shiemi in the last chapter
also Mephisto’s actual spy is probably not Takara himself but rather the puppet that can summon any spirits (I have no idea about what the puppet is though? a demon?)
Aaaaand that’s it. Feel free to leave your thoughts!
So, who wanna bet…
that we will need (the nephilims of) Armumahel and Shemihaza to get the situation back under control? Now that…
Mephy is out for some time
Illuminati is getting their move on
Yukio has lost faith or is under Satan’s influence
Rin will have no idea what to do
Lightning was arrested
I don’t trust Angel and even if he was clean, he can’t do much on his own
…it seems that the situation won’t be able to get better with just the Order, which is exactly what Illuminati wants and which is why it narratively can’t happen and end like that.
Besides, Armumahel and Shemihaza together are supposed to create some sort of balance (nothingness & creation) I guess, which is why they seem to be the best people to bet on in this situation? + It would fit with why Sensei started Shiemi’s character arc now.
Just some thoughts because the new chapter is near and I can’t wait. >_<
But consider: Mephisto is definitely aware of Satan scoping Assiah out using Yukio’s body.
This is from chapter 31 just after Yukio learns about his eyes.
Yknow. 62 chapters before it hits the fan.
Thanks, Mephisto.
…Ain’t he talking about brother Lucy and/or his organisation here?
Since we later find out Shima (back then presumed a chicken by Konekomaru) ran off to
some Illuminati squad trotting through the woods during this whole incident… as I recall (would have to double-check the manga though)?
But it IS possible he’s talking about Yukio’s eyes, since Yukio himself later remarks that “sir Pheles may already know about my eye”.
I’m fairly confident he’s mentioning the eyes since Yukio’s literally made to be the focus in the panel to Mephisto’s left (or right for a person viewing it). Its possible he could be referencing both but with the focus on Yukio makes me believe he’s more or less talking about him.
For some goddamn reason I thought this was an edit, like Meph was just conveniently moved there from another frame xD You’re right, he must be talking about the eyes, then… Sneaky bastard.
So, the first scans of the new chapter are out (slight spoiler alert!). At the Christmas party, Shiemi gives everyone a clover charm.
Me: “Hold on… that looks familiar…” *flips through manga* “Duuuuude.”
Did we just stumble upon some sort of standard Exorcist goodbye tradition, or…? We still don’t know the Important Big Thing Shiemi’s mom told her that made her quit exorcism. And then then there’s the real shape of the Grigori. And some theories about the Moriyama family’s relation to one of them in particular.
…Could it be those lucky clovers are actually sprouts from Shemihaza?
midnight-in-town 