Chapter 33

Will Toward a Higher State (高みへの意志, Takami e no Ishi) is the 33rd chapter of the Fumetsu no Anata e manga, and the last chapter of the Takunaha Arc.

Summary
Fushi and Pioran make it to a town and they stop to eat noodles. Fushi is worried and says they should leave soon because he won't be able to protect the town if the Nokkers attack. Pioran keeps eating and says they'll leave soon as she orders. a beer. Fushi decides to wait for her outside. He asks the Beholder where the Nokkers are and the Beholder tells him about six kilometres northwest of where they are. He also tells Fushi that since the fourth they've been buried underground so he can't detect their movements. Fushi asks if the Beholder is always aware of where they are and he responds back, "they feel like bugs crawling on your skin. As small eggs, you cannot notice them, but once they hatch, you are. subject to great unease."

Pioran returns and asks Fushi who he's talking too. Fushi tells Pioran about the Beholder. She asks him what he wants to do. Fushi thinks about it a realizes that the Beholder led him to Pioran in the last chapter so that Fushi chooses to become stronger to protect her. Pioran seeing Fushi struggle tells him that she doesn't need him to protect her. Fushi hesitantly accepts.

Pioran points to some fruit in a tree and asks Fushi to get some. Fushi summons the fruit from his body but Pioran rejects it. She asks Fushi to transform into March to climb the tree but Fushi struggles to remember who March is. Pioran realizes that if Fushi is killed in a form the Nokkers take Fushi's memory of that form away. Pioran comments that it is like a second death and wonders if being forgotten how people truly die. Fushi becomes determined to not let that happen and decides to become stronger.

Fushi starts applying stimuli to himself with objects as to acquire their form. However he notes that if he turns into an inanimate object he loses consciousness. While trying to acquire the form of living things he finds out that he can only do so if they die. As Pioran is boiling a kaniflower alive, Fushi tells her he can vicariously feel nearby living thing's pain. Fushi summons an empty kaniflower husks noting he's not prepared to transform into one. He thinks that he could probably summon an empty husk of Gugu too.

Fushi thinks back to his fight in Takunaha with the Nokkers and asks Pioran how to break rocks. She hypothesizes that the flames heated the stone skin and by jumping into the water it rapidly cooled thus making it combust. Fushi tells her that's the only reliable way to defeat the Nokkers that he knows of and Pioran tells him that he needs adaptability. She pulls out a map and suggests they head to Sarlnine Island. She tells him it's an isolated animal paradise and he'll be able to learn plenty of techniques there. Fushi worries about boarding a ship but Pioran tells him not to worry so much or else he'll never get stronger. Fushi agrees and they both head off.



They find the ship to Sarlnine Island at the dock but a mysterious girl approaches them to tell them the ship is full. She tells them to let her guide them to another ship and she separates them on board. Fushi is taken by another person and is shoved behind bars with a bunch of other men. The ship's captain instructs them to hold out their hands from the bars so he can distribute tickets. Fushi does as instructed and a hot metal rod burns a symbol onto his hand. The mark quickly fades however because if Fushi's powers. Fushi becomes worried for Pioran who went with the mysterious girl. The ship's captain welcomes them as prisoners and informs them that they're all heading to Jananda.

Chapter Notes

 * The Beholder can sense where the Nokkers are, but has trouble detecting them if they're underground.
 * Pioran figures out the Nokkers take away Fushi's forms and memories when he's killed in those forms.
 * Fushi decides to become stronger as to not forget the people he's met.
 * Fushi starts proactively gaining new forms by applying stimuli to himself.
 * Fushi can only acquire the forms of living things if they die.
 * Fushi can vicariously feel the pain of nearby living things.
 * Fushi can summon husks of living things.
 * Pioran and Fushi get taken to Jananda by a mysterious girl.

Trivia

 * Fushi says whenever he prepared fish or crayfish in Takunaha, he always made Gugu do the dirty work because he can feel their pain.