The last volume of Fairy Cube! Includes a side story as well. This manga makes me interested in Kaori's other work.Summary
Ian decides to take the invitation and attend the party where Rin is at. The fairies help him along the way and he gets in without being caught. Meanwhile, Tokage follows Shira and discovers the source of her power, a fairy demon god that has taken over her father's body. The demon god also tells Tokage how he came to be where he is, which also includes Shira's back story.
At the same time, Ian's aunt, Lise, visits his father in the hospital. She reminisces about how her sister and him met as well as what has happened to Ian. The moment Ian's father hears that, he reacts very strongly and urges her that he must tell "that child" his name.
Back at the party, Rin becomes one of the five finalists and calls Ian to the front. Ainsel warns Ian not to go, but Ian does so anyway. He is caught in a cage, but it turns out it isn't Ian at all, but a bunch of fairies creating an illusion. The real Ian jumps from behind and cuts off the necklace Rin has been wearing. This breaks the spell over Rin and the two of them escape. Kaito calls them over and the whole group follows after him.
Unfortunately for them, it seems Kaito has the same goals as the fairy demon god and he brings them to the door. Kaito claims he has been using both Ainsel and Ian and asks the demon god for a piece of the power pie. Balor, the demon fairy god, agrees and brings forth Ian's mother Kureha, who has the appearance of a child because Balor sealed her powers and memories away. Shira admits to being a girl and Kuraha apologizes for using her loneliness. This shocks Shira, while Tokage turns his attention to Kuraha and begins to attack her for abandoning him. This cases the bunny to fall and the seal to break, returning Kureha to normal.
Kureha is saddened to see her son using his brother's own body and tells him that his name is Isaiah and that she only left him because she was being pursued. Just then Ian's father arrives with Lise and he likewise screams, "Your name is Isaiah." This turn of events stuns Tokage. Balor gets annoyed and attacks Kureha, causing her to be peirced with a piece of stone; Ian's father runs to her and hold her in his arms. Tokage laments that this was not the way things were suppose to be just as Kaito shots him with his gun causing his spirit to leave Ian's body, while Ian's own soul is absorbed back into his body.
In his body, Ian now has merged with Ainsel, who has become his wings. Meanwhile Tokage is being absorbed by the numerous demons and fairies pouring from the sky toward the door. Ducie, who has been with him this whole time, is given the last of Kureha's power and saves him. Meanwhile, Raven takes Rin and Balor threatens to have her killed if Ian doesn't open the door. While Rin tells him not to listen, Ian opens the door anyway, letting lose a bunch of demons.
Shira has a change of heart now and cuts the tubes supporting Balor in her father's body. This angers Balor and he attackers her. She dies in Tokage's hands, telling him that the seal on Raven is now broken and wishing she could atone for her sins. Tokage promises to atone for both of them and she dies. With his seal broken, Raven now jumps into action and creates a barrier so that no more demons can escape. The barrier, however, is not permanent, and Kaito finally reveals that his plan all along was to become the new seal with Ainsel. He takes the broken wings, which Balor had previous torn off from Ivan, and asks that both Ian and Isaiah shoot the gun to seal the door.
They do so, but just as the door is about to close, the humans begin to disbelieve in fairies once more. Ian and Rin hold hands and create a miracle once again, closing the door shut. The two are then seen to be walking hand in hand, allowing the fairy world to appear in the human world where ever they go.
After the finale, there is a side story called "Psycho Knocker", which deals with Isaiah and Raven as they hunt down a few of the demons that escaped the sealing. Isaiah is hoping to atone for his and Shira's sins in this manner and Raven is doing his job as the guardian of the door. They follow around a girl, who they believe will be the next victim of the demons, the psycho knockers.
My Thoughts
Hm, I guess I'll start by saying that the pace was a little off in this volume. While volume 1 and 2 moved at the perfect pace, this volume felt a bit rushed. Not too much, since the movement from one event to another still made sense. However, it did feel like the mangaka was trying to warp up everything a little too fast with revelations and major events following in rapid succession. But that may be because I'm used to slow drawn out plots.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy this volume just as much as the other two and felt it concluded the manga in a beautiful way. The final scene with Ian and Rin waking hand in hand creating little openings to the fairy world was simple yet touching. There were a lot of losses in the finale as well: Kureha, Shira, Ainsel, and Kaito, but it never felt sad for multiple reasons. For Kureha, she didn't have much presence in the manga to begin with. Shira, while it was sad seeing her die, again this character wasn't as flushed out, so I didn't feel as much for her. Her last moments with Tokage were bitter sweet, but I felt there wasn't enough between them for me to really feel for them. While Kaito and Ainsel didn't really die, but were sealed along with the demons and in a weird sort of way, got what they wanted. That and the rapid succession of events really stopped me from feeling the manga's ending was tragic. For right after Kaito and Ainsel's sacrifice, we see the beautiful scene with Ian and Rin, which casts away all prior misfortunes.
The side story was actually quite good. I liked the main character because she was very down to earth, yet had a bit of personal strength as well. Seeing Isaiah and Raven again was also a nice bonus. I thought the girl, Ashina, and Isaiah were cute, although they weren't paired off. (So I guess Isiah belongs to Shira after all xD ). All in all, a really great manga. I really do not regret buying all three volumes. And I'm even thinking of trying some of Kaori's longer works.
~Joanna
