Chapter 129: Master-Servant Contract

Master-Servant Contract (主従契約, Shujū Keiyaku) is the 129th chapter of the Kekkaishi Manga written and illustrated by Yellow Tanabe.

Summary
Yoshimori and Takeshi continue to pursue Jaren, pummeling him with Kekkai and stakes. Yoshimori and Takeshi compliment each other on their attacks, and when Jaren dissolves and flees, they chase after him. Tokine and Hakubi chase after them, wondering what the pair could be thinking. She recalls that Takeshi has already told them that normal attacks are useless: Jaren will only dissolve and escape, manipulating the opponent until it devours their heart, leaving only an empty corpse. Yoshimori suggests that they maintain an overly positive attitude: Tokine dislikes this plan, but Takeshi agrees (likely because being overly positive is normal for him).

Yoshimori and Takeshi keep up their plan of attacking Jaren and staying positive, and Yoshimori notes that it seems to be working: Jaren is growing weaker. Despite this, he wonders why only Takeshi's techniques do any real damage. Takeshi says it is because Yoshimori's technique is not appropriate for fighting Jaren: the Kekkai technique is effective against physical beings, but Jaren is a spirit that has no solid form. Exorcist techniques, on the other hand, use the stakes as a focus to send power directly into the enemy's body, and in addition, the contract works almost like a curse. Yoshimori wonders if Zekkai would work, but admits he still can't use it properly.

Jaren suddenly stops running and confronts the pair. Tokine catches up and warns them to get away as she sees Jaren gathering power. Takeshi tells Yoshimori to get away as well, since he's not used to Jaren's malice, but Yoshimori claims that he'll only know if it's possible for him to fight Jaren if he gets closer. Jaren suddenly grows in size, and says he's stronger because of the malicious hearts of humans, which give him power. Jaren claims that Kurogane was especially tasty, and that every human has a malicious heart. Combined with the power of Karasumori, he laughs that they have no chance against him. Yoshimori is confused, because Jaren's words have no effect on him: from what Takeshi told him of Kurogane, he feels Jaren is mistaken about him. Takeshi realizes that Jaren is only focusing on a small part of the overall man that was his master, and knows that Kurogane truly regretted his crime, and hunted Jaren to make up for it. This makes Takeshi more determined to stop Jaren. Yoshimori surrounds Jaren with a Kekkai, and Takeshi throws a stake imbued with his power at Jaren. Jaren shrieks as he is struck, and Takeshi says he will bear all of Jaren, and commands him to kneel with an explosion of power. Takeshi proclaims the contract a success, and Jaren seems stunned before he dissolves and flees again, this time leaving Karasumori for good. Yoshimori is alarmed, but Takeshi assures him that Jaren cannot move too far away from his master, and that he will take care of Jaren slowly later on. Yoshimori and Takeshi begin to loudly celebrate, much to Tokine's embarrassment.