| Chapter 23 | |
| Chapter Information | |
|---|---|
| Title | Chapter 23 |
| Volume Number | 6 |
| Chapter Number | 23 |
| Chapter Guide | |
| Previous | Chapter 22 |
| Next | Chapter 24 |
| Chapters and Volumes | |
Corporal Hat, leader of the "Child of Light" cultists, reminisces about the night he and his first two associates encountered the Bokor for the very first time. They were awe-struck by the Bokor- how he sat upon a pillar of the undead, how he commanded them to do his bidding, and how he seemed to have spared the trio's lives.
So the three of them decided the final judgment of humanity had begun. They saw this as the Christian version of the apocalypse, as described in the bible. They saw the Bokor as the second coming of God, and this God was resurrecting dead just as the bible promises he would.
So their mission was clear—to follow the “Child of Light” as they began to call him, and spread the good news of his coming to earth.
He and Daisy go into deeper detail, telling Cell Four, Hanabata and Kasahara all that they have learned about the infected and the Bokor.
The soldiers initially reject Top's faith.
Hat, Daisy and their acquaintance went to the Yokosuka U.S. Naval Base, which was being used by the United Nations. When they got there they found a bunch of confused soldiers who could not understand the world they are now living in. Some of the soldiers were high on drugs, while others committed suicide.
The trio spoke to the remaining soldiers, and one by one they all converted to the belief that the Child of Light and the infected (whom they never refer to as zombies) were a blessing from God.
Meanwhile, biologists were researching the mystery of the resurrected dead. They discovered that a virus what the culprit. It was a virus like no other. It spontaneously developed and quickly spread throughout the world. It was highly infectious and 100% incurable. It only infects human beings. Its mode of transmission is either being scratched or bitten by an infected person (or an infected object).
Those infected with the virus lose their ability to think and reason. They no longer feel pain. They gain increased strength, and can sustain much more damage than uninfected people. The virus quickly alters the infected human's body, and there are innumerable ways in which an infected persons body will 'evolve'. Despite some of their changes being detrimental to their former lives, the researchers still considered them to be superior to humans, due to their ability to withstand all sorts of adversities and survive, unless subjected to extreme trauma.
It was obvious that there is no chance for the infected and uninfected to ever co-existing together. However, amongst themselves, the infected do not inconvenience one another. So scientists began to consider the infected as a different species that humans cannot communicate with.
As for the "Child of Light," it has been estimated that 1 out of every several hundred million people to be infected will evolve into a special kind of creature. This person will develop a unique body and unique capabilities.
Cell Four, Hanabata and Kasahara are held captive on the roof.
The known capabilities of a "Child of Light" include superhuman healing, no need for food or sleep, compound eyes with three pupils and the lack of genitalia. But the most unique trait the Child of Light has is the ability to control the infected. The Child of Light can command the infected to do whatever "he" wants them to do, creating one organism made up entirely of many individual organisms.
Their lecture done, Daisy once again asks where the videotape of the Child of Light is. When no one answers her she shows them that they mean business. She orders Edward, another cultist, to kick Kasahara off of the rooftop. He falls into the waiting arms of the zombies down below. Hanabata, in his usual expressive self, threatens a cultist, who pushes him off of the roof as well.
Yoshioka chooses to commit suicide rather than be shot to death by the cultists.
Daisy returns her attention back to Cell Four. She demands the location of the tape again. Yamanoi speaks up, asking if they'd rather have the Bokor instead of the tape. He tells them that they recorded him, bound him, gagged him, and locked him up. Yamanoi is trying his best to stall the situation, but as he tries to think of a way to buy them more time Yoshioka steps in. He tells Daisy that they killed the "Boss Monster" by bashing his head in and then hid his body in Cell Eight. Daisy translates for the rest of the cultists and sends two of them to find his body. They indeed find their "Child of Light" dead and beheaded. Once everyone is aware of the situation they all begin to cry out in grief and disbelief. This amuses Yoshioka, who takes pleasure in seeing people he hates cry. Yamanoi asks Yoshioka what is he doing and Yoshioka says it's a beautiful day to end to his pointless life. He hops onto the edge of the roof, turns to face everyone, sticks his tongue out and happily free falls into the ocean of zombies.
Laughing quietly to himself, Iwakura states that he's survived for a very long time under very harsh circumstances. He says his father will forgive him and he too voluntarily jumps off of the roof.
Yamanoi muses that he's must be unlucky for ending up with such fools. He takes off his glasses, puts them into his breast pocket, and falls backwards into the undead masses below. He looks at peace as he is surrounded by the arms of the undead.
Chapter 23 Tally for The Shouran Academy Juvenile Detention Center[]
- 124 Inmates- 100 Dead...?
- 20 Guards- 18 Dead
- 2 Others- 2 Dead...?
- 26 Remaining?
Image Gallery[]
