Chapter 98 (raws)

[Mojo]

That insta forest thing is impressive...It has quite the drawback but it still is very useful. Nee continues being great tbh. Also it's funny that Mephisto is itching to tell Rin about his origins but not do the same for his brother, lol bastard is definitely fine Yukio going to the illuminati.

Also it seems that this chapter makes it seem like Rin was scared of his origins to some degree, which is why he was dismissive of Yukio's question about their birth. I kinda feel sorry for him since he's now gonna associate that to the reason Yukio left hence the scaredy cat comment. The contrasting and parallels between the brothers has always been entertaining to see in this manga. It's like Katou is progressively showing us that Rin was far from fine despite his attitude in recent chapters

Btw, shout out to Bon-sama for clutching onto Konekomaru out fear, that real fucking manly. XD

Overall I felt like this chapter was somewhat slow. On the good side, the next is definitely gonna be great.

[Cloelia]

Some thoughts after I got some sleep:

-I guess Rin will still need the Koma sword at some point. So after it'll be repaired, I wonder if the two sides (human and demon) will get separated like before 'cause of the seal activating again and we'll get the usual Rin back. Prolly not, I know. It's a necessary development for Rin to confront/learn to control his demon side so just splitting them again would be like going back to point zero. Or the sword could just get repaired without applying the sealing ability again. So Rin could still use it as a weapon, but it won't act like a gate anymore.
-the growing horns on Rin's head. They formed over the two points from which usually his flame horns did come out when he was in regular demonic form. All Rin changes in this chapter are really interesting. When he "reborns" from his ashes, his eyes are Satan-shaped and he got Satan-horns over his head. He acts Satan-ish too. Then, he's still like that in Rin's "mind". But he claims to be Rin's power/the "embodiment" of his negative feelings (or something like that) so, essentially, his demon side. Then, when human!Rin overwhelms demon!Rin, his traits change again. He's a mix between his demon form when Koma sword is unsheathed and his demon side. His ears are slightly shorter, he got those lil horns, a longer tail, his eyes are demonic-shaped, but not Satan-shaped. It's like there are at least 4 "demon forms" of Rin:

-the "mainly human" one with only a few physical demonic traits (while the sword is sheathed).
-the "half-demon" one with more "prominent" physical demon traits, along with some flames here and there (like the horns and the tip of his tail), plus the demonic eyes (while the sword his unsheathed).
-the "demon" form with Satan-like traits (Satan-shaped horns and Satan-shaped eyes).
-the "half-demon" vers. 2 with slightly more "prominent" or "reduced" physical demon traits but different colors of hair/tail, eyes.

Like, what a mess. Kato-sama, would you please stop making things more complicated than what they already are?

[Madow]

It's like there are at least 4 "demon forms" of Rin:

-the "mainly human" one with only a few physical demonic traits (while the sword is sheathed).
-the "half-demon" one with more "prominent" physical demon traits, along with some flames here and there (like the horns and the tip of his tail), plus the demonic eyes (while the sword his unsheathed).
-the "demon" form with Satan-like traits (Satan-shaped horns and Satan-shaped eyes).
-the "half-demon" vers. 2 with slightly more "prominent" or "reduced" physical demon traits but different colors of hair/tail, eyes.

Like, what a mess. Kato-sama, would you please stop making things more complicated than what they already are?

To be fair, that is normally the trope for Shounen. In stuff like Naruto and DBZ the characters have like a dozen (SSJ 1 all the way to SSJBKKX20) so this is pretty tame in comparison

[Taytronics7]

This chapter was crazy! I didn't think that we'd get the secret to the Blue Night so soon! Though I could easily see Kato just jumping to Rin's reaction to it without explaining anything to us (please don't do that Kato).

I'm really excited for the next chapters coming up! Chapter 99 will be the first chapter of volume 22, who I'm assuming that cover will be Shiemi, since Rin will get volume 21 cover.

Btw, can we talk about Shiemi for a sec? After she summoned that forest, we see her nose start to drip blood. Izumo says that Shiemi's hit her limit, but I suspect something else is happening. When the Ba'al use their power too much, their bodies start to deteriorate, like with Lucifer and Amaimon. I think that Shiemi might be a powerful demon who hasn't awakened her "ego" yet. It would explain why she acts so strange compared to others and why she was kept away from society, so her ego couldn't have a chance to develop.

[Stella96]

Also it's funny that Mephisto is itching to tell Rin about his origins but not do the same for his brother, lol bastard is definitely fine Yukio going to the illuminati.

It looks like neither Satan or Mephisto care about Yukio, (Mephisto only wanted to use him and Satan... well everyone has seen how Satan talks to Yukio) Only Lucifer has said him that he has some kind of potential, so it’s understandable that finally he’s joined the Illuminati ...

 It's like there are at least 4 "demon forms" of Rin:

-the "mainly human" one with only a few physical demonic traits (while the sword is sheathed).
-the "half-demon" one with more "prominent" physical demon traits, along with some flames here and there (like the horns and the tip of his tail), plus the demonic eyes (while the sword his unsheathed).
-the "demon" form with Satan-like traits (Satan-shaped horns and Satan-shaped eyes).
-the "half-demon" vers. 2 with slightly more "prominent" or "reduced" physical demon traits but different colors of hair/tail, eyes.

Like, what a mess. Kato-sama, would you please stop making things more complicated than what they already are?

I guess it’s just Rin’s demonic form with different levels of “power” or berserk. Like intermediate phases. And if it’s his true body I think he won’t get back his human form.
And thinking about it it’s a good idea to change Rin’s hair since Yukio (probably) will not wear glasses anymore. So it’s easier to recognize them in case of a panel where they both appear.

[earthforge]

Also it's funny that Mephisto is itching to tell Rin about his origins but not do the same for his brother, lol bastard is definitely fine Yukio going to the illuminati.

It looks like neither Satan or Mephisto care about Yukio, (Mephisto only wanted to use him and Satan... well everyone has seen how Satan talks to Yukio) Only Lucifer has said him that he has some kind of potential, so it’s understandable that finally he’s joined the Illuminati ...

There's no way Yukio can have a power stronger than Rin. Rin's a demon and Yukio's a human. They have traits that blur the lines, but in the end, Rin is more powerful.

So of course Mephisto is letting Lucifer "take out the trash". 

[AlienGirl]

I'm the only one who thinks that Kato will wait for the 100th chapter for all the revelations ?

Maybe the chapter 99 will focus on Yukio and Illuminati or Rin's friends (Finally some informations on Shiemi ? I notice Amaimon suddenly sounds very interested)

Too many questions...

[Mojo]

Also it's funny that Mephisto is itching to tell Rin about his origins but not do the same for his brother, lol bastard is definitely fine Yukio going to the illuminati.

It looks like neither Satan or Mephisto care about Yukio, (Mephisto only wanted to use him and Satan... well everyone has seen how Satan talks to Yukio) Only Lucifer has said him that he has some kind of potential, so it’s understandable that finally he’s joined the Illuminati ...

You know I suspected Mephisto only using Yukio as a catalyst for Rin to develop but after his compliment  on the eyes durning the conference, I thought he'd gain some sort of new benefit  from him but I guess not. Now that I think about it, Lucifer had always seemed to be an enigma, as he was fine with letting the guards handle Rin instead of him despite how ridiculous that sounded. Though I still don't think that he's too different from the other two, Yukio made it clear that it all made little difference, I was just certain that Mephisto would want to have demon-power-Yukio( though the source is still not explained).

[HorseTechie]

Hoooo... this was a fun chapter, even though 80 percent of it was about nekid crazy Rin. 

Demon Rin totally got his sass from his Daddy.  Like... totally. (Had not this much fun since that bath house fiasco)

It also took me a long while to realize Shiemi had made that forest appear. She is that invested in the twins!

Though... I'm also thinking how much Rin looks like Lucifer, in the eyes and hair. The horn numps... heh, getting a Hellboy vibe too! What will come of this! That would be interesting.

-Why is the title STILL Beyond the Snow? What's this got to do with Yukio? He only appears for a panel

Or we can think of it this way... this is after Yukio has left now. And then... Rin has made certain that any snow left there has all been melted away!
 
 

Also it's funny that Mephisto is itching to tell Rin about his origins but not do the same for his brother, lol bastard is definitely fine Yukio going to the illuminati.

It looks like neither Satan or Mephisto care about Yukio, (Mephisto only wanted to use him and Satan... well everyone has seen how Satan talks to Yukio) Only Lucifer has said him that he has some kind of potential, so it’s understandable that finally he’s joined the Illuminati ...

There's no way Yukio can have a power stronger than Rin. Rin's a demon and Yukio's a human. They have traits that blur the lines, but in the end, Rin is more powerful.

So of course Mephisto is letting Lucifer "take out the trash". 

Hee... so much explained with that thought! 

Again, curious to wonder if Mephisto had planned to let it go this far just so he could set up Rin just for this moment.

[Kikkiko]

I love this chapter. Really enjoying seeing Shiemi being more confident in her abilities. Quoting facets (Thank you so much for your hilarious summaries!!!); Shiemis "instant forestry" was pretty damn cool. Liking the panel that shows how Rin has "destroyed life" whilst Shiemi has "created" it. Also Suguro being such a worried goof is adorable.

So Rin just experienced the loss of his brother (which he seems adamant is his fault but it kinda is and isn't), burning to a crisp (dieing?) and finding out he's got a creepy pyromaniac demon persona that tried to kill everyone, yet he acts all calm and mature after waking up. Dude's come so far that I'm starting to feel proud of him like Shura does xD I gotta admit though, I miss his black hair already :') It's like it symbolised the "happy-school-life Rin" to me and now it's the turning point; he's not gonna get that life back and it's "serious-shit-is-gonna-go-down Rin" now. But I like his look and I imagine the horns will grow to look like Last Guardian's Trico horns and if you look closely Rins hair has a slight gradient to very light grey towards the top of his hair.

And I'm totally on the Shiemi-is-Shemihazas-representative/nephelim/clone train. Amaimon looks kinda scared of Shiemi (mouth agape n' all) and so he should, if she has an affinity to a more powerful demon than him. I think her Mother is already Shemihaza's rep and in Chapter 3, she said she was "so busy with the shop" (her training to be a grigori maybe?) she couldn't care for Shiemi. So whenever she says she's got "supply runs" to do, she's actually in grigori meetings/procuring materials using Shemihaza. Part of me wants to think she helped keep Rin safe from execution because she knew how important he was to Shiemi.

As facets suggested, the idea of the truth being told in parallel between Meph&Lucy is such a neat idea. But how much does Lucy actually know? He had a deteriorating body and I assume broke away from Meph once he lost "the best" enhanced human to his Pops. That implies he had no part in Mephisto's escapades with Shiro after the twins conception as he started doing his own thing. (Also I got the impression the Blue Night happened a while after the twins were conceived as Shiro met Tatsuma before it? So Satans initial conception didn't cause the Blue Night but allowed it to happen? So confusing) So that said, will we get half the story from Mephy and half from Lucy? But we know Mephy & Lucy both have agendas and that Rin & Yukio are tools in their war. Will both of them twist the truth so it works in their favour? Will we (and the twins) have to figure out the REAL truth from two?

Also, lots of parallels in this chapter to the last. Yukio said he was evil and he's outwardly acted like it, but we all know he does have a kind heart but it's buried in all his self-esteem issues. Rin has always outwardly acted kind but we now know his "evil" self is deep in his mind too. Rin is now a human soul possessing a demon body and Yukio has a demon "possessing" his human body (bit of a push there I know xD)

Anyway, there's my brain fart. Awesome chapter and I'm glad after all the character dev. and set up, the story is ramping up in pace again.

[earthforge]

Demon Rin totally got his sass from his Daddy.  Like... totally. (Had not this much fun since that bath house fiasco)

I don't think he's sassy as much as overjoyed to share his flames with everyone. "LET MY FLAMES LOVE YOU!"

although even that interpretation ignores how his remarks have an... unfortunate connotation too... (tumblr post from facets here)

Kinda funny how both Rin and Yukio have a similar challenge of having to protect Shiemi from something ugly inside themselves, Rin's demon side and Satan.

Though... I'm also thinking how much Rin looks like Lucifer, in the eyes and hair.

He looks a lot like Goro from that one panel we saw of him.

Rin is now a human soul possessing a demon body and Yukio has a demon "possessing" his human body (bit of a push there I know xD)

Holy crap, that is a perfect way of putting things with Rin! Not sure about Yukio. I don't even have a working theory for what's going on with him right now. We're probably not going to have an answer for four chapters, though...

Speaking of... I think the story is about to slow down a lot. We're probably about to enter a flashback arc and only near the end will we get the secrets of the birth. There's probably gonna be a lot of Shiro ahead.

[Mags]

*coming back from Berserk hell*

I am digging that demon Rin, he is so creepy in a funny way, his demon speech pattern reminds me of Satan's. It makes me think of Amaimon too and Mephisto's words about how pleasing it was for them to get a body and feel, it makes then estactic, Rin in demon form looks like he is feeling all of it when he declares that he never has felt as good as at that moment.

I am looking foward to next chapter.

[HorseTechie]

Demon Rin totally got his sass from his Daddy.  Like... totally. (Had not this much fun since that bath house fiasco)

I don't think he's sassy as much as overjoyed to share his flames with everyone. "LET MY FLAMES LOVE YOU!"

although even that interpretation ignores how his remarks have an... unfortunate connotation too... (tumblr post from facets here)

Ahh, yes, Facets post was very enlightening, and it did leave me laughing from imagining that Demon Rin's fetish is to use his flames in a pervy way. 

It was just the way he spoke, it reminded me of that 'funny' way of making something rather serious, not so much. (A jesting tone Satan seems to have in most of his speech)

For instance, remember how many times in the past when ControlledRin's flames touched Shiemi (and the others from the IK arc), she realized they were not harmful but instead pleasantly warm.

So in comparison, he wants to show them what his full, unrestrained power (not held back by sword and human Rin) is like now. And that it is the dreadful flames they (Yukio inclued) had originally feared from the time of the Blue Night (which was the other reason why I thought Bon and Koneko looked so freaked out!)

Kinda funny how both Rin and Yukio have a similar challenge of having to protect Shiemi from something ugly inside themselves, Rin's demon side and Satan.

Yes!  (And that Imagine Dragon's song comes to me again) 

This also made me think to that first time we had a sense of this deeper demon side of Rin in the IK arc, when Ucchusma asked him to stop holding back... that something was pushing him to let go.  Then Rin heard his demon's voice and what he really craved... thise scary things Controlled Rin did not want. So then it was Shiemi's words (and Bon's trust, everyone that he promised) that kept him grounded to who he was as Human/Controlled Rin.  Not crazy Monster Rin.

(Just happened to notice something when flipping back through IK to check the spelling of a name and first page of chapter 30, Toudou asked Yukio "How long would it take to reduce a single human to ash?"  .... Well, now we know. insert classic Tootsie roll commercial here  ... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!)

Though... I'm also thinking how much Rin looks like Lucifer, in the eyes and hair.

He looks a lot like Goro from that one panel we saw of him.
[/quote]

Ohhh.... that Goro! (That's his name? Forgot about him!) Here I be thinking... Persona5? Certainly not that dude from Mortal Kombat. *eyeshift* 

The Hellboy reference was just about the horns actually (not the red skin complexion). With Hellboy, the horns would grow when he tapped into his demon powers so I wondered if it would be in some way the same for Rin.

[Hellspawn]

Ahh, yes, Facets post was very enlightening, and it did leave me laughing from imagining that Demon Rin's fetish is to use his flames in a pervy way. 

It was just the way he spoke, it reminded me of that 'funny' way of making something rather serious, not so much. (A jesting tone Satan seems to have in most of his speech)

For instance, remember how many times in the past when ControlledRin's flames touched Shiemi (and the others from the IK arc), she realized they were not harmful but instead pleasantly warm.

So in comparison, he wants to show them what his full, unrestrained power (not held back by sword and human Rin) is like now. And that it is the dreadful flames they (Yukio inclued) had originally feared from the time of the Blue Night (which was the other reason why I thought Bon and Koneko looked so freaked out!)

Well, to be fair it was only 15-20 chapters ago that we had Rin asking Shiemi to the dance and admitting he wanted them to be together before going dog-tongued about kissing, hugging, cuddling, etc., and it's not like he isn't a horny 16-year-old (amusement park from Arc 1 anybody?).

And there's Mephisto's comments from the forest Amaimon fight about demons being destructive pleasure seekers combined with the still unexplained conception of Satan and Yuri combined with the unexplained total absence of Yuri in person.

Basically, of course while the two halves are fighting for supremacy you get a creepy, situationally terrifying, yet still slightly endearing-after-the-fact admittance by Rin that deep down his human side wants to share himself with Shiemi, which includes his flames, which he wants to use to keep her warm and safe, while his demon half just wants to experience life and his full fiery potential in the moment and damn the consequences (b/c who are these people to said demon half?).

I mean come on, it's the battle between the virtuous, loving heart and savage teenage hormones (i.e. the beast within) exacerbated by one's existence as a half-demon all wrapped up in a bow at a cataclysmic point in Rin's life. Savage manga author is savage.

[Cloelia]

I know I'm kinda late with this reaction. But, you know those times it takes you a while to realize something's really happening? Today I was staring into the distance, spacing out for while, and at some point I was literally like: "It's REALLY happening." Guys, after years of waiting, here we are. It's happening. We're gonna get answers! Even if it's not in the very next chapter, I don't care. We're CLOSE to those answers like we never were before and there's no way back. At this point there CAN'T be! And I'm so excited! I felt like this at the beginning of the BTS arc too. Like, oh, man, Yukio finally got his own arc and it took me a solid 2 weeks to actually realize that. We learned very little so far about his eyes (the other -hot- topic we always longed to get answers about) but, this time we're close to get -real- answers FOR REAL. I feel it. And, nothing, as I said I'm just excited. Hehe.