Succession

Succession
Japanese Title	サクセション Sakuseshon
Volume	5
Chapter	42
Arc	e-test
Pages	19
Release Date	July 25, 2011
WSJ Issue	33, 2011
Chronology
Previous Chapter	e41. Mayday
Next Chapter	e43. Realize

Succession (サクセション, Sakuseshon) is chapter 42 of the ǝnígmǝ manga.

Summary

Everyone misunderstands what Kirio means by how one of them shall become ǝnígmǝ. Kirio claims that getting out of prison is simple, but that it'd be meaningless if he did if he can't use ǝnígmǝ. He reveals that ǝnígmǝ can only grant three wishes and that he already used all of them. Sumio and Shigeru are puzzled. Kirio explains the three wishes: First, the school festival. Second, surviving the plane crash, and third, "the pawns needed for escape" ("I want people with the power to become ǝnígmǝ"), hence setting up the e-test. As Sumio realizes this, Kirio explains that if he passes ǝnígmǝ to one who is chosen, his own use restriction will reset itself. That is, he'll be able to use ǝnígmǝ a second time after getting out of prison. Sumio asks if he intends to make all the participants hold ǝnígmǝ as decoys. From outside the room, a prison guard calls that he is about to enter the room and requests Kirio to stand. Entering the room, he answers yes to Sumio's question, claiming it'd put him in the center of all calamity. Taking off his hat, it is revealed the prison guard is actually Kijima, to Sumio and Sudō's surprise. Realizing Kijima is alright, Sumio asks how he got out of the replica school and realizes that he did use the password "to the school" after all. Kijima confirms this. He then kowtows onto the floor and deeply apologizes to everyone. Sumio and Sudō are confused, while Sudō is also slightly annoyed. Kirio coldly calls Kijima a gentleman and claims the way he acts makes him incompetent. Kijima frowns at Kirio and tells him to be quiet. Sumio is stunned by Kijima's entrance and his uniform. Kijima then reveals that Kirio is actually his stepbrother, further stunning him and Shigeru more. He stutters to claim that he just wanted to protect Kirio from the "enemy" that seeks the skull, and the children controlled by destiny.

Kijima reveals what happened in the beginning. When Kijima was a child, his father kindly passed ǝnígmǝ to him, claiming he'd be appropriate to become ǝnígmǝ. However, the skull rejected him and he failed to inherit it, hence the pattern on his right hand only appearing on the front, not the back. Kijima claims his father's attitude suddenly changed. His father called him incompetent and kicked him and his mother out of the house. He recalls his father being possessed by an existence called ǝnígmǝ, his reason for hating it. Then later, at the school festival, which he claims was "the day destiny went mad", he recalls his apparent shock at ǝnígmǝ making Talents for everyone as he held Shigeru by her shoulders and heard the announcement. He tried looking for the owner of ǝnígmǝ, whom he didn't know at the time, but when he came to the announcement room, Kirio was already sent to the hospital. Facing Sudō, he reveals he had an ominous premonition and promptly got Yumikawa arrested temporarily while she was still safe and healthy. Angered, Sudō grabs him in realization of Kijima messing with other people's affairs and framing her. Kijima explains that he is wrong, reminding him that Yumikawa heard the announcement at the school festival too. Hence, she also acquired an Talent, one of drawing other people with Talents towards herself. He claims if Kirio's "enemy" saw her as troublesome, she might get captured. With Sudō in surprise, Kijima proceeds to explain that when he saw Yumikawa's plane ticket on Q-510, he became really uneasy. With the plane crash realized, he felt that if he didn't arrest Yumikawa on false charges, she'd die in the plane crash too. He recalls visiting her in prison and apologizing deeply to her, whereas she responded in confusion and claims it's okay as she's innocent. In his distressed mind, Kijima still thought it wasn't okay as the skull made destiny go mad and that he must end the chain of ǝnígmǝ and protect everyone involved with it. Sudō is still in disbelief as Sumio watches him. Kijima then recalls having a strange envelope delivered to him, a recruitment form to become a part-time prison guard. In wonder of why he received the envelope, he visits the prison with inundation. It was at the point when he came inside the room holding Kirio's cell when he realized Kirio became ǝnígmǝ all that time. He recalled Kirio's eyes looking down on him like his father's, and that what he carried was so overbearing that it unconsciously made him shrink back. Kirio revealed to Kijima that ǝnígmǝ was the one that called for him, to make him the prison guard for himself to prepare his escape. Sumio asks Kijima how he became a prison guard if he was already a teacher. Kijima explains he was only a teacher late at night and on days off, and that even then, no one else would approach Kirio as they feared him. Back to Kijima's first confrontation of Kirio in his cell, Kirio reveals that he made Kijima's Talent grow, one that can "Manipulate What Was Copied". He commands Kijima to use it to stage the e-test, to choose people who can take care of ǝnígmǝ, his third wish. Kijima was in shock of Kirio's commands at first and wanted to stop him, but as he was controlled by Kirio's desires, he was forced to obey him. He recalls having created a stage of madness as if he too were possessed by ǝnígmǝ. He recalls that from then on, his days were spent protecting those who had Talents from the "enemy". Eventually, he realized that he couldn't protect all of them alone and thought of keeping them in his replica world, transforming them into Shadows so that they wouldn't have to take on the hardest challenges. That is, with his hope of stopping the chain gone, he strived to protect who he could at least. With everyone in shock of Kijima's true intentions at the time, Sudō stutters to claim he shouldn't decide that for them. Covering his face with his right hand, Kijima agrees, but recalls that he couldn't figure out anything about "ǝnígmǝ" or the "enemy" at the time as he claims he was incompetant after all. He recalls watching the participants through the monitors during the fifth e-test as what brought out his true personality, what gave him hope that they'd succeed in bringing down Kirio's madness and the chain. He reveals his indecisiveness at that moment in thinking both of letting them out and not letting them out. Sumio figures that this was why he able to attain the eighth password from him. Kijima points to Shigeru as the reason for his hope of them being able breaking the chain. Shigeru stutters at his realization. Kijima claims her Talent, Foresight, was the "light" giving out hope among the darkness. He points to Sumio too, for strengthening her "light" and spreading it to everyone around him, saving everyone's destinies. Sumio finally realizes why Kijima wanted Shigeru and that he did all he could to change his and everyone's destinies for the better, for Kirio and the participants.

Smiling, Kirio teases Kijima's incompetence by relying on a girl a generation younger than himself. Having said that, Kirio claims he still wanted to meet her himself. He offers ǝnígmǝ to her and promises to meet her. As Shigeru hesitates, Sumio stops Kirio and claims everything happened because of the skull, Kirio being targeted and everyone summoned here. Having enough of what has happened, he grabs the skull with his right hand and offers to destroy it. Suddenly, Sumio starts to experience some strange sensations. Shigeru tries to stop him claiming he'll be targeted next if he takes on the identity of ǝnígmǝ. As the pattern on his right hand recedes, Kirio is merely fascinated that Sumio would carry on the burden of the next "king", as expected already by him. With Sumio holding ǝnígmǝ and the pattern appearing on his hand, Kirio calls him ǝnígmǝ. Looking back at Kirio, Sumio calls himself ǝnígmǝ too, to everyone's surprise. Noticing Sumio's hand, Shigeru approaches him first and asks if he's okay. Sumio claims he is, but in his mind, he feels odd, as if some "monster" beyond himself had awoken inside his body. Smiling, Kirio proclaims the succession successful and that Sumio shall take on the burden of all destinies, the true cost of ǝnígmǝ, but claims that he still has some status as ǝnígmǝ, intoxicated. Excitedly, he tells Sumio to wait for him to come after him. In response, Sumio looks back at him with the promise of eliminating ǝnígmǝ and the cause of everything that has happened. Kirio proclaims the e-test over and his three wishes satisfied. With a deafening noise, Kirio proclaims all the participants' wishes having been brought out, that they have all escaped destiny. He tells the participants to enjoy their "reality wished for". Suddenly, the eight are sent back to the rooftop of Yūyami High School, with Aru having transformed back into his normal body and holding Pit-kun in his left hand.

Characters in order of appearance

1. Ryō Kurisu
2. Jirō Matsurigi
3. Moto Hasekura
4. Takemaru Sudō
5. Sumio Haiba
6. Shigeru Kurumiya
7. Kirio Imizuka
8. Hiina Kujōin
9. Yūta Kijima
10. Aru Mizusawa
11. Gidō Imizuka (flashback)
12. Ami Yumikawa (flashback)
13. Cannibal (flashback)