What, the little stunt he pulled at the Gate of Betrayal didn't count as being in the fray? I suppose he didn't really do any fighting there, except perhaps against his own reflexive rejection of teamwork. And that was defeated by his even MORE reflexive affront that the masters of the castle would dare to dangle something petty like being one of their own in front of him so he would betray his team to begin with. Being a dedicated loner seems a little like a balancing act for him; weighing all necessary alliances against each other while resenting everyone who forces him into them.
No wonder he's a bit prickly.
I hope your sixth sense wasn't reduced by your heavy aura loss in that last battle.
But Yusuke is confident enough to accept this answer without question and head straight for the cited door. When Hiei expresses some doubt about Kuwabara's assessment, Kuwabara assures him that mapping out mazes and traps is kinda his forte, with a note below this pointing the reader back to when Genkai was choosing her successor. Oof, that's an awkward explanation.
The wind howls around the castle while the remaining antagonists watch the proceeding team in a shining orb, commenting on the one in their number who has a strong sixth sense and allows them to make straight for their goal without falling into any traps. One of the pairs of eyes gleaming out of the shadows scoffs that there's only two of them left, the other pair turning a glare on them. This second pair assures Master Suzaku that they've only seen the preliminary scuffles, and he'll take all of them out, identifying himself as Seiryu.
Don't think there will be ANY more resistance beyond them? Good luck, lol.
The gang arrives at a pair of great bronze double doors, flanked with elaborate statues of dragons. Yusuke deems the decor pretentious, and Hiei thinks the statues are worthless. Kurama says that this must be Seiryu's chamber, judging by the demonic aura leaking out that's more potent than the others they've come across. Kuwabara agrees, complaining of goosebumps, but that could just be due to his continued shirtless state.
When they push open the creaking door, Yusuke gapes in alarm.
Invested a lot to look that intimidating, didn't you?
Seiryu chuckles after sharing his plan to dismember them all and then kill them, as if they didn't hear similar threats from the last guy. In fact, Yusuke informs him that they've heard that line before, calling him a "skank". Does Yusuke know something about this guy's sex life that I don't, or do we have different definitions of that word? Either way, Seiryu glares silently for a moment, then hums over an uninvited guest they have.
Some confusion colors Yusuke's expression, but he and the others look around at the sound of intermittent scuffing sounds in the direction from which they came. Kuwabara identifies it as something dragging something else along, grimacing. Hiei reiterates it's coming from down the hall. Then the great doors open again.
His form is REMARKABLY intact for having taken a swim in acid.
Byakko begs for some energy from his ally, stuttering that he'll repay Seiryu once he's stronger. Sweating bullets, Kuwabara is horrified that Byakko is still ALIVE. Yusuke mumbles that it's too much, no doubt referring to the amount of pain he can imagine Byakko feeling right now.
Seiryu quietly calls Byakko a fool, ridiculous, AND a failure. The triple insult. Byakko says Seiryu's name in supplication, but Seiryu is pitiless. He extends a hand, not to help, but to gesture in a way that suggests the movements of a technique. Calling Byakko useless and, even more so an EYESORE, Seiryu is surrounded by a sudden gust of wind-like energy. Byakko recognizes the stance and is begging again, this time that he NOT do what he's about to do.
Seiryu bids him to fall to the "Ghostly Ice Fist", punching toward Byakko without coming close to touching him. Though he has not been hit, Byakko's body seizes up and FREEZES OVER entirely, shocking Yusuke with the sudden icy fate of the giant cat-like creature.
Gets 'em every time.
Kuwabara is SHOOK by this display, Yusuke exclaiming his disbelief that he killed one of his fellow Beasts. I mean, at this point, I don't know if I believe Byakko is dead; he seems to THRIVE off of humiliating almost deaths. Byakko's frozen head thuds on the floor and utters a groan. SEE??? I wouldn't be surprised if he puts himself back together somehow and shows back up the moment we need another demonstration of Beast powers.
Seiryu scoffs that he laid 100 freezing punches at near absolute zero on Byakko, an attack that no one but his precious Master Suzaku can dodge. Byakko's head spews blood from the mouth, managing to ask Seiryu WHY. This dude just keeps on TRUCKING. Seiryu explains that he's proven himself weak and worthless, though I wouldn't PERSONALLY call swimming out of acid and talking as a disembodied head WEAK. Regardless of my definitions of words, Seiryu calls Byakko a loser in short, and spits on him. The spittle lands on Byakko's temple, he lets out a final groan, and goes silent at last. Rest in piss? Why do I feel like it's STILL too early to say goodbye to this douchebag?
Yusuke looks absolutely INFURIATED, as Kurama comments levelly that these Beasts have no sense of camaraderie, driven solely by greed and hunger. Kuwabara admits he wanted to destroy Byakko, but the way Seiryu did it is super wrong and weird. He insists that Byakko deserved better, vowing to get him some justice. Vein in his temple popping, Yusuke agrees heartily, and promises to do the honors himself.
But Hiei tells Yusuke to wait, and with a sober expression, tells him to save that rage for later, when he'll need it to face Suzaku. Yusuke begins to protest, but it's a very timid one, and Kuwabara and Kurama remain in a speechless awe as Hiei steps toward a chuckling Seiryu.
Hiei glares into his periphery, not answering Seiryu. Kurama says he's never seen Hiei like this before, asserting he is, or WAS at least, exactly as Seiryu described above. But he seems to be pretty upset at what Seiryu has done to Byakko. Everyone has a line, I suppose. Kurama continues, observing that self-interest isn't what moves him now, which appears to bewilder him, but Kurama can't say precisely what this means. The only thing Kurama CAN say for sure is that the battle aura surrounding Hiei is the strongest he's ever seen. Maybe he's discovered his own amygdala.
As Yusuke and Kuwabara look on, Hiei and Seiryu glower at one another, the latter striking an offensive stance and promising to crush the former. Hiei grasps the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it at the most opportune moment. When Seiryu yells at him to die and makes his first move.
... Is it over ALREADY? Seiryu certainly looks shocked enough at his bisection in the next panel to suggest it might be. The reactions of the bystanders are looking on about the same level of shock too. The lightning fast Hiei has landed and replaced his sword in its sheath before Seiryu's parts have succumbed to gravity themselves.
Kuwabara is absolutely in AWE at how flippin' awesome that shit was, asking rhetorically if any of the rest of them saw it. They saw the results, maybe, but I think the process might have been a little fast to pick up. Kurama scoffs, saying he saw, but lost track after the first stroke. Kuwabara admits that he MIGHT have to revise his opinion of the little runt, hunched over and arms hanging like the caricature of a gorilla or caveman, which I suppose might indicate how primitive he is in skill compared to Hiei.
Yusuke blurts a delighted noise of admiration, gushing about how amazing it was that Hiei laid Seiryu out in one blow, the wind whipped up in the flurry still appearing to clear the field. As the team approaches Hiei, Kurama asks how many cuts that was, and Hiei responds that it was SIXTEEN. I would have only required one to defeat me, so it just seems like overkill in my book. Yusuke admits he only caught eight of those slashes, and Kurama tells him his eyes are way better. Kuwabara says Seiryu was filleted before he even blinked. When Yusuke praises Hiei on how fast he is, saying he would be beat in a rematch between them hands-down, Hiei turns and walks away, merely saying that MAY be the case.
This aloof response confuses Yusuke, who thought he'd agree outright, but Kurama claims that Hiei has changed since he came here. Where, Demon City? The castle? This very ROOM?? It's not clear, but Kurama says Yusuke might be a good influence on Hiei. For once, Yusuke's expression is quite neutral, and he's not wearing some goofy, exaggerated face. Not sure I like it all that much.
Meanwhile, the shining orb the Beasts use to spy on their "guests" show the four teammates strolling forth before being shattered in a fit of rage.
For real? Seiryu is REALLY failed that FAST?
Talk about style over substance.
So, what did I think of this chapter overall? I have to admit it was rather anticlimactic. Even being suspicious that perhaps Seiryu's death is yet another fake-out, given YT has trained me to think that way over the last few chapters with Byakko in them (INCLUDING this one), Hiei's victory with no struggle whatsoever was disappointing. Both of our other combatants were HEAVILY injured and fatigued by their battles, so it seems almost like an insult to them that Hiei should win his in the blink of an eye with very little effort. Moreover, part of his stated reason for taking on Seiryu was to clear the field for Yusuke to take on Suzaku ahead, but Hiei's victory is so ridiculously complete that he no doubt has energy to spare to face Suzaku too, no problem.
And it doesn't exactly make Hiei look like the biggest badass, from my point of view. His teammates were pretty impressed, but Seiryu only got to show his stuff against once, and it was against a severely weakened Byakko, who couldn't even BEGIN to fight back. Seiryu was calling Byakko weak and useless, but the dude kept coming back from defeat over and over, and it just took a few slashes from Hiei to take Seiryu down. Again, I'm not convinced Seiryu is REALLY dead, as I've learned from Byakko not to trust an obvious death, but even so, he went down this initial way without much time to be so much as a nuisance. It gives the overall impression of a blowhard who was talking a big game and wishcasting projected strength with a lot of expensive trimmings, but someone who was ultimately a weakling himself.
Which WOULD be interesting, but only if we know something substantial about the character in question, or even WANT to know something about them. Seiryu isn't given enough time to pique interest, and doesn't seem to add anything that makes him stand out from the other Beasts in the castle. It makes you wonder why he's here, if he adds nothing substantial to the story except being a body that stood for mere seconds between the team and Suzaku. Guy may as well not have had a name, for how quickly he was discarded.
Anyway, tired as I'm getting of all the unlikely survivals here, I can't help but hope that my suspicions are correct, because this seems like an AWFUL waste. Hiei deserves an ACTUAL challenge on par with the others, not a throw-away tension-killer that lasts a couple of panels and we're done.
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