Kusanagi Mizuho-sensei manages to make my heart clench again with the latest update. Just when I thought my heart will be able to be still, there turns out to be something to worry about again!
This chapter opens up with the scene when Yona approaches Shin-ah. The effect of his dragon power finally takes his body that he has to lean on her. Seeing Yona and Shin-ah together makes my heart squeeze. And the line when Shin-ah says that he can’t even feel if Ao is eating (and he is!) his hair is so adorable.
And the Dark Dragon and the Happy Hungry Bunch is finally reunited! I cry so much tears of joy. Yoon being in demand is unsettling, but I like how they depend on him at times like this. Also, look at that conversation between Hak and Yoon. They’re so adorable. And look at Zeno struggling to carry Shin-ah because aren’t they just the two cutest dragons? And Algira greeting the three adds to that cute panel on the lower right of the first picture above!
Even if they are all covered in wounds and probably will have a lot of difficulties when they’ll need to fight, it’s still reassuring that they are all together. It’s so nerve-wracking to see them separated. It was not their first time working separately, but this arc has them facing danger like never before.
As they are all away from the Hiryuu castle, the dragons’ regeneration power is slow. Even Hak had to put even more effort to protect the princess. This is bound to happen when they are even outnumbered at a time like that. I’m just glad that no one is suffering terribly to the point that they can’t move anymore.
Seriously, Yoon’s the MVP in this chapter! He may not have the power and skills to fight, but his other skills make up for it. He is the one treating their wounds every time they’re hurt. He cooks, sews, prepares a lot of things for them. He’s even acknowledged as the mother of the group! (I love it whenever they tease him with that.) That conversation with Princess Kouren speaks so much about how strong Yoon is.
Line before the one in the picture: “The reason I didn’t throw away the hairpin I received from Soo-won was so I’d never forget that night… or so I convinced myself. But, …”
Then, Kouren speaks about the powers the dragons possess and how they can use it to exact revenge against Soo-won, but Yona answers that the four dragons aren’t tools for settling her personal grudges. I love her answer because this shows how she personally cherishes them.
Then, Kouren asks Yona if she has a personal grudge and she tells her that she doesn’t know. Despite what Soo-won did, Yona knew Soo-won from childhood. They experienced a lot of things together. Yona also loved him dearly. That awful act was totally out of the character that Yona knew of him, so I understand if it’s difficult for her to despise him so.
In addition, with everything that Soo-won’s doing, we can be sure that he’s aiming for a better Kouka kingdom. He even said that he doesn’t intend to sit on the throne for long. He has a goal and he just wants to achieve it. Once he’s done, he probably will willingly step down from the position.
Personally, I also want to believe in him. He and Yona are constantly crossing paths exactly because they both have the same intentions of making their kingdom better. It’s just that their methods are considerably different from one another, considering the one holds power while the other lost hers.
Then Kouren asks about the talk she and Tao are offered to have with Soo-won before they start war. Yona’s sincerity must have moved Kouren’s heart as she seems to be planning to go with it despite the thought of his father and even Neguro’s words. And she apologizes in the panel above, too, surprising them all.
Meanwhile, Hak wonders if he will be able to be like Yona, calmly facing Soo-won when there’s opportunity. His hatred for Soo-won because of his betrayal to them hasn’t subsided even a bit.
I love Algira looking all serious here.
Last we saw of Mizari, he killed the guys who aimed the last arrows to Neguro. He swore he’s going to prove himself. Also, apparently, Kouren has an idea where Yotaka is. And yes, this chapter answers the question the fandom has been asking for at least two months before the update — JUST WHERE THE HELL IS YOTAKA? There was even a theory that he’s a spy for Gobi, but this chapter clarifies that he really is at the encampment.
The scene shifts to where Yotaka is. He is talking to General Namsek until a soldier reports what Gobi has been doing, convincing the people that Kouren is ready to use the people as shields just to get back to what happened 17 years ago.
I was as surprised as him when I saw this!
While listening in on what Gobi is trying to feed the people’s minds, Yotaka is suddenly attacked from behind by the soldier who called him. The guy introduces himself as the best friend of one of the guys Mizari cut down some time ago.
Yotaka apologizes, but speaks of how he isn’t going to hold back if the man is the one who’ll seek revenge against Kouren. This just proves to us that he is just as loyal to Kouren as Neguro and Mizari is. His reaction toward hearing how he is the only one left of the Five Stars shows his care for them. (By the way, Neguro is mentioned a couple of times in this chapter. It still breaks my heart to think of what happened to him.) Anyway, even if Gobi says that, I doubt that Mizari is dead. She must have told him that to rile him up.
Then, the scene cuts to this one above, where Handae calls Tae-woo’s attention. I just love these two so much. Tae-woo’s too preoccupied by the thought of having to protect the tribe just as Hak told him to do. I think that for him, he’s just acting as a temporary general. He still considers Hak the authority above them all. But then before they parted, Hak told him that he already left the Wind Tribe so it’s all on Tae-woo now. He’s still young, but he has to grow up and be able to make decisions for the tribe.
We all know just how much the Wind Tribe adores Hak. Even if the other tribes will be their enemy, they will be ready to fight just to protect Hak. Or any member of their tribe for that matter. That’s just how much strong the bond between each of them are. This is why I love the Wind Tribe so much. I just want each of them to be happy and safe. But what’s happening by the end of the chapter just leaves me so anxious!
Just seeing that panel where Tae-woo notices Yotaka and Gobi with his minions made my heart sank because I knew that there’s no way Tae-woo is going to just leave them alone. With this, there’s no way the whole of the Wind Tribe won’t be involved, especially that Tae-woo deliberately interfered with the two. Not that there was no way they wouldn’t be, especially that they’re really just waiting for the arrival of the Sky Tribe.
So, yup. I’m back to shivering in the corner. Fingers crossed that nothing bad will happen to Tae-woo or anyone from the Wind Tribe. And I hope the dragons recover soon!
Treasure Box 