Chapter 158: Old Ally

Old Ally (盟友, Meiyū) is the 158th chapter of the Kekkaishi Manga written and illustrated by Yellow Tanabe.

Summary
Mudou immediately recognizes both the Hazama-Ryu Kekkaijutsu and the Houin on Yoshimori's clothing. Yoshimori finally realizes that Mudou is the person Masamori has been chasing. Lord Tan'yuu abruptly decides that he doesn't want to die. Mudou realizes that Yoshimori is Masamori's brother, and tells him not to interfere. Mudou's flying balls easily smash Yoshimori's Kekkai, and Mudou's scarf wraps around Tan'yuu and yanks him toward Mudou. As he does so, the Tan'yuu trapped in the scarf is revealed to actually be his servant, while Tan'yuu flees in the form of the servant. Mudou recognizes the switch, instantly shoots one of his flying balls through the servant's body and leaves him for dead, and chases Tan'yuu. Yoshimori activates his Zekkai armor and throws himself between the flying balls and Tan'yuu, temporarily deflecting them but also harming Tan'yuu in the process. More flying balls strike Yoshimori from behind, catching him off guard, and Mudou's scarf is able to capture Tan'yuu. Mudou spins one of his flying balls and slams it into Tan'yuu's chest. Yoshimori demands to know what Tan'yuu did wrong. Mudou warns him not to be fooled by appearances, and says that Tan'yuu has been kidnapping humans and stealing their souls. He points out that Tan'yuu has already used his illusions to trick Yoshimori. Mudou claims to understand this, since the land would most likely vanish if Tan'yuu did not survive in this way, but also points out that Tan'yuu also used his servant as a decoy, and questions if Yoshimori really wants to protect a coward and a liar.

Elsewhere, Masamori is still pinned down by several of Mudou's flying balls, protected only by his Zekkai. He recalls a conversation he had with Mudou years ago, when he was just forming the Night Troop. Mudou called him a copycat, apparently having done something similiar first. Masamori replied that he didn't intend to take it as far as Mudou had. Mudou claimed that the one thing a person needed to govern others was pure charisma, which could be gained by being earnest about becoming powerful. Stirred by these words, Masamori uses willpower to increase the size of his Zekkai, vaporizing the flying balls that pinned him down.

Yoshimori admits he isn't sure whether Tan'yuu is good or bad, but still finds it weird that Mudou, as an Ayakashi himself, would talk about right and wrong. Mudou replies that while it is natural for Ayakashi to kill humans, Tan'yuu far overstepped his bounds by becoming too obvious, and for that reason, Mudou has come to judge him. He claims that as a human, Yoshimori probably wouldn't understand how Ayakashi behave. Yoshimori refuses to stand back and watch, and Mudou calls him a simple person, claiming to understand where Masamori's inferiority complex comes from. Yoshimori notices that the ball Mudou attached to the god's chest has gradually gotten bigger. Mudou suddenly attacks with his flying balls, and while Yoshimori gets his Zekkai armor up in time to block, the force of the blows knocks his down. Mudou admits he was trying to buy time by talking, and that everything he told Yoshimori was a lie. He confesses to being the one who killed countless humans and stole their souls, but adds that he is a close friend of Masamori's. Mudou poses a question to Yoshimori: after Mudou kills Yoshimori, would Masamori mourn his passing, or would he be happy?

Characters (in order of appearance)

 * Mudou
 * Tan'yuu's Servant
 * Lord Tan'yuu
 * Yoshimori Sumimura
 * Masamori Sumimura