Cherished Place is the 86th chapter of the "Shuumatsu no Valkyrie: Record of Ragnarok" manga series.
Summary[]
Heimdall talking about the arena's new renovations for Round 10
On top of a tower, Heimdall declares that, in preparation for the tenth round of Ragnarok, the battleground has been changed into Bakumatsu-era Kyoto. He reveals this was done in response to Round 9, where many spectators were injured by Apollo's arrows. Heimdall adds that this arena change was requested by the Gods' fighter for this round and so, the streets of Kyoto in Bakumatsu-era Japan have been perfectly recreated. A few in the Gods' audience question why their fighter would go through the trouble of requesting a setting more fit for Humans. Heimdall goes over how the score is currently 5-4, in the Gods' favor, which means the Gods only need two more victories for Humanity's complete extinction. As Brunhilde and Göll look on, Heimdall says, with Humanity at the edge of doom, the greatest swordsman in all of Valhalla has descended to push them over the edge.
Susano'o enters the arena
The tenth representative for the Gods walks across a bridge with a smile on his face. Heimdall recounts the tale of how, long, long ago, this God slayed the eight heads of the serpent, Yamata no Orochi, with his great Totsuka-no-Tsurugi, introducing "swordsmanship" to the world. Furthermore, the sword that this God discovered in the body of Yamata no Orochi was the legendary Divine Weapon, Ame-no-Murakumo. Armed with that blade, he cast the wicked Gods out of Takamagahara, with the ferocity of a great tempest and with the speed of a lightning bolt. Now the time has come, for the feared and treacherous "Aragami", to prove himself.
Susano'o is excited to be fighting in the Bakumatsu era
The tenth representative of the Gods is the creator of swordsmanship and the most powerful Godslayer – Susano'o no Mikoto. Looking at his surroundings, Susano'o remarks on how this is the Bakumatsu and takes a deep breath, confirming it makes his blood boil with excitement. Heimdall announces that the Human who'll face Valhalla's strongest Godslayer, is none other than "this man." As the tenth representative for Humanity walks towards him, Susano'o grins. Throughout Japan's rich history, there was one era where men burned the hottest; where ideals and swords clashed against one another, and lives were scattered like petals in the wind. That era was the Bakumatsu.
Soji enters the arena
In Kyoto during this time, masters of the sword appeared as frequently as clouds and swordsmanship had reached its peak as just the art of "manslaying." Among all the manslayers of the Bakumatsu, Heimdall posits who the strongest was. Was it Tadasaburo Sasaki, the man who buried countless ronin of the Roshigumi and was hailed as the "strongest kodachi in Japan"? Or was it the original commander of the Shinsengumi, the "Tyrant of the Bakumatsu", Kamo Serizawa of the Shindo Munen-Ryu? Could it have been one of the four manslayers who turned the tide of the Bakumatsu: Izo Okada, Shinbei Tanaka, Gensai Kawakami and Hanjiro Nakamura? Heimdall rejects all those options and talks about how, when facing this slight-framed man, draped in a blue-green haori, the loyalists cowered as if they were staring at the devil himself. His blade stained Osaka and Kyoto alike with a thick layer of blood and fear.
Heimdall questions whether the wielder of that blade was a man or a devil before formally introducing the tenth representative for Humanity, the Shinsengumi's First Division Captain, the strongest Manslayer, Soji Okita. Brandishing one of his katana, Soji happily sighs about how nostalgic this city is, as well as its scent of blood. Round 10 of Ragnarok – Susano'o no Mikoto vs. Soji Okita. Wondering who is stronger between Valhalla's strongest Godslayer and Humanity's strongest Manslayer, Heimdall rings a bell to signal the start of the fight.
Susano'o excitedly raves about the Ikedaya incident
Soji immediately takes a fighting stance but Susano'o looks off to the side and asks Soji to hold. Soji is taken aback and Susano'o then asks him if the shop they’re standing in front of is the Ikedaya Inn. When Soji confirms it is, Susano'o widely smiles and approaches the building, excitedly going on about how this is the place where, faced against some twenty Ishin Shishi loyalist warriors from the Choshu and Tosa, the Shinsengumi sliced them down with just four men themselves. Seeing some sword marks in the pillar, Susano'o guesses they’re in Kyoto after the Ikedaya incident. Soji is slightly impressed by how much Susano'o knows about that incident and Susano'o confesses it’s because the Bakumatsu is his most cherished place. He created swordsmanship and it has been cultivated by the Humans over their long history. But Susano'o believes the swordsmen of the Bakumatsu stand above all other swordsmen as they honed swordsmanship to its peak to create the art of manslaying. Susano'o reveals that is why he has waited so long and dutifully for this chance to fight Soji.
The Shinsengumi members supporting Soji
Stunned, Soji admits Susano'o is much different than what he had imagined the God of Swords to be like. At that moment, a member of Humanity's crowd yells for Soji to slice Susano'o in half, snapping Soji out of it. The man couldn't believe Soji was losing focus already. A different man with glasses asks the first man to stop screaming like that as he's going to embarrass his unit. Another man with white hair chuckles about how some things never change and he calls the first man a dumbass. The two start looking like they're going to fight each other when Isami Kondo punches them both on the head to get them to stop, the two both exasperated that Isami is still hitting them in the afterlife. As a few others in Humanity's crowd wonder who Isami and the men with him are, Soji smiles and comments on how those guys are always so rowdy. Standing tall, Isami addresses the key members of the Shinsengumi and asks if they're ready to cheer Soji on.
Finally...we can cut each other down as much as we want!
Shinsengumi's Third Division Captain, Hajime Saito smirks about how it's finally time. Shinsengumi's Second Division Captain, Shinpachi Nagakura, questions if Soji is in any shape to fight. Isami reassures him that he doesn't need to worry before encouraging all of them to look at Soji's face. Genzaburo Inoue (Shinsengumi's Sixth Division Captain), Eisaburo Abiru (a member of the Mibu Roshigumi), Heisuke Todo (Shinsengumi's Eighth Division Captain), Kai Shimada (a Shinsengumi spy), Keisuke Yamanami (the Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi) and Sanosuke Harada (Shinsegumi's Tenth Division Captain) all agree that the expression on Soji's face is good. Isami firmly believes, whenever Soji gets like that, he is stronger than anyone.
Soji states his body feels strong, the atmosphere is nostalgic and he's got the strongest opponent, causing Susano'o to keep up his smile. With his eyes glowing, Soji revels in the fact that they can finally cut each other down as much as they want.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Heimdall
- Brunhilde (No lines)
- Göll (No lines)
- Susano'o no Mikoto
- Soji Okita
- Shinpachi Nagakura
- Kai Shimada
- Heisuke Todo
- Keisuke Yamanami
- Hajime Saito
- Isami Kondo
- Genzaburo Inoue (No lines)
- Eisaburo Abiru
- Sanosuke Harada
Trivia[]
- This chapter was originally released under the title "Godslayer vs. Manslayer" (神斬りVS人斬り, Kamigiri vs Hitokiri).
[]
| Chapters & Volumes | |
|---|---|
| Volume 1 | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 |
| Volume 2 | 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 |
| Volume 3 | 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 |
| Volume 4 | 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 |
| Volume 5 | 19 • 20 • 21 |
| Volume 6 | 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 |
| Volume 7 | 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 |
| Volume 8 | 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 |
| Volume 9 | 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 |
| Volume 10 | 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 |
| Volume 11 | 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 |
| Volume 12 | 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 |
| Volume 13 | 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 |
| Volume 14 | 54 • 55 • 56 • 57 |
| Volume 15 | 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • B1 |
| Volume 16 | 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 • 66 |
| Volume 17 | 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • B2 |
| Volume 18 | 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • B3 |
| Volume 19 | 75 • 76 • 77 • 78 |
| Volume 20 | 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 |
| Volume 21 | 83 • 84 • 85 • 86 |
| Volume 22 | 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • B4 |
| Volume 23 | 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • B5 |
| Volume 24 | 95 • 96 • 97 • 98 |
| List of Rounds (Manga) | |
|---|---|
| 1. Lü Bu vs. Thor | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 |
| 2. Adam vs. Zeus | 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 |
| 3. Kojiro Sasaki vs. Poseidon | 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 |
| 4. Jack the Ripper vs. Heracles | 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 |
| 5. Raiden Tameemon vs. Shiva | 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 |
| 6. Buddha vs. Bishamonten/Zerofuku/Hajun | 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 |
| 7. Qin Shi Huang vs. Hades | 55 • 56 • 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 62 • 63 • 64 • 65 |
| 8. Nikola Tesla vs. Beelzebub | 66 • 67 • 68 • 69 • 70 • 71 • 72 • 73 • 74 • 75 • 76 • 77 |
| 9. Leonidas vs. Apollo | 78 • 79 • 80 • 81 • 82 • 83 • 84 |
| 10. Soji Okita vs. Susano'o no Mikoto | 84 • 85 • 86 • 87 • 88 • 89 • 90 • 91 • 92 • 93 • 94 • 95 • 96 |