"What a pity…"
Looking at Bols' tragic end, Daniel sighed heavily.
After the intense battle, Bols had barely managed to escape, but then he encountered a young girl with an injured leg.
Without questioning why such a young child would be alone in such a place or how she had gotten hurt, Bols carefully tended to her wound. His kindness blinded him to the looming danger. The girl suddenly drove a slender needle into the back of his neck.
This "young girl" was actually Chelsea in disguise, one of Night Raid's members.
As Bols lay dying, his mind was filled with visions of his wife and child waiting for him at home. He saw them smiling and waving at him. Despite his pain, he crawled desperately toward their image—slowly, agonizingly.
"I... I have to go back..."
"They're waiting for me... I must... go back..."
No matter how hard he tried, Bols couldn't reach them. The vision of his family seemed to drift further and further away. Tears streamed down his face as he stretched out his hand toward them. But his fingers never made contact.
And then... he died.
A Complex Character
Daniel felt genuine sorrow over Bols' death.
Despite facing what appeared to be an innocent child, Bols had shown nothing but warmth and kindness. Could such a man truly be called evil?
The answer wasn't simple.
While Bols' actions revealed his good heart, he was also complicit in carrying out the empire's brutal orders, including burning down villages suspected of harboring revolutionary forces or plagued by disease.
Bols was both a victim of circumstance and a perpetrator of cruelty.
"If only he had lived in a slice-of-life series instead of this grim world," Daniel thought. "He could've been a loving husband and a great father."
Yet Bols was a soldier through and through. Unlike the misguided justice of someone like Seryu, his loyalty to the empire stemmed from a sense of duty. Bols never hesitated to follow orders, even when he knew they were morally wrong.
His story reminded Daniel of the soldiers from Fullmetal Alchemist who participated in the Ishvalan War of Extermination. Those characters later reflected on the atrocities they committed, filled with guilt and regret.
Bols, too, had been trapped in a system where his duty to obey superseded his personal morality.
"He wore that strange mask, which made him seem intimidating, but deep down, he was just a gentle, kind man," Daniel mused. "Blame it on the Porter's cruel world-building."
Still, Daniel couldn't deny that the Porter's ability to craft morally complex stories with layers of meaning was impressive.
"Comics aren't just about fun," Daniel thought. "They can make you think, reflect, and even question your own beliefs."
Chelsea's Fate
As Daniel continued reading, he watched as Chelsea regrouped with Lubbock after killing Bols.
Lubbock suggested they return together, but Chelsea insisted on pursuing Kurome alone, asking Lubbock to gather reinforcements instead.
Chelsea, whose Imperial Arm wasn't suited for combat, knew she had no chance in a direct fight against Kurome. Her only option was to rely on her shapeshifting skills and find an opportunity to strike.
"No way... Is she going to die?" Daniel muttered.
He remembered the earlier scenes where Tatsumi had unintentionally charmed Chelsea. It reminded him of how Sheele's feelings for Tatsumi were revealed shortly before her death.
The parallels made him nervous.
As Daniel watched Chelsea ambush Kurome, who was weakened by the side effects of her stimulant drugs, he let out a sigh of relief when Chelsea successfully struck her target.
"Phew… At least she made it."
But his relief was short-lived.
Tragic End
Kurome didn't die.
Despite Chelsea's sneak attack, Kurome slowly got back on her feet.
"Of course…" Daniel groaned, already bracing himself. "She's definitely going to die now."
And the story played out exactly as he feared.
Chelsea tried to escape, knowing she stood no chance against Kurome in direct combat. But Kurome activated Yatsufusa, summoning two powerful puppets far beyond Chelsea's ability to handle.
One of them struck Chelsea, severing her arm.
Chelsea collapsed in a flower field, her blood pooling around her. Her eyes were filled with despair and a faint glimmer of hope—hope that she might survive.
She wanted to return to her comrades, to show off her victory. She wanted to continue fighting for justice.
But it was all in vain.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as the life drained from her body. The woman who often scolded others for being too naive became the most naive of all.
A Brutal Aftermath
Her death was devastating enough, but the Porter didn't stop there.
Chelsea's body was desecrated.
After her death, Seryu's biological Imperial Arm, Koro, devoured her corpse, leaving it in a mangled state. Her head was severed and mounted on a pike to be displayed in the streets as a warning.
The manga showed Tatsumi, drenched by the rain, staring in disbelief at Chelsea's head. He collapsed to his knees, overwhelmed with despair and guilt.
Readers shared Tatsumi's devastation.
Reader Reactions
Daniel felt a lump in his throat and an ache in his chest. The Porter's storytelling always hit hard, but Chelsea's death was particularly gut-wrenching.
"I thought I was used to this guy's emotional gut punches," Daniel muttered. "But this… this is something else."
He felt a mix of sadness, anger, and frustration.
"Why couldn't she at least get a dignified death?!"
Daniel wasn't alone in his outrage. Online forums exploded with similar sentiments:
"What the hell, Porter?! First Illya, now Chelsea?! Two heartbreaking deaths in one week?!""If you're so good at killing characters, why don't you just kill the main character too?!""I'm done with this series. I read manga to feel good, not to get emotionally wrecked.""Oh, please. This is the 18th time you've said you're quitting, and yet you're still here."
The emotional impact of Chelsea's death left a lasting impression on readers, even if many were furious at the Porter for his relentless cruelty.