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- For the chapter named after Soga's title, see Chapter 100.
“I chose based on my beliefs and ideals to kill all of those people. To protect this country and its people.” ― Soga explaining his reasons for eliminating the islanders.[source]
Akemura Soga (
He is a significant historical figure due to his actions during the Seitei War.
Appearance
Akemura Soga is a lanky, dilapidated looking man dressed in shabby white robes fastened with a black belt. He has black shoulder-length hair and prominent eyebags underneath his light-colored eyes. When activating Magatsumi's ability to allow external users to wield the blade while simultaneously attempting to possess them, black shadows form over his eyes.
Personality
Before the Seitei War, Kunishige held great trust within Soga, indicating that he was an upstanding individual who carried out Kunishige's ideals of defeating evil and protecting the weak.
Over the course of the Seitei War, however, Akemura Soga became determined to annihilate the islanders, successfully committing genocide and killing roughly 200,000 people, to the point where he had to be forcefully suppressed and imprisoned by the other five sword bearers. He would later state that he had chose to do so based on his own beliefs and ideals, and believed such a course of action entirely necessary to protect the people of Japan; indicating that while he still followed Kunishige's ideals of defeating evil and protecting the weak, those ideals had become distorted in Soga's execution.
In the present, Soga is largely intact mentally despite having been isolated for 18 years, and has a desire to learn more about how the outside has changed, having immediately asked Yura about the weather when he approached his location and paused his mental invasion of Yura solely so he could speak with him. Earlier, when he had been able to access his blade Magatsumi for the first time in 18 years as Kyora Sazanami attempted to use it, Soga promptly activated it and attempted to possess Kyora through invading his mind, though Kyora was able to fend Soga off to his death.
When Yura made his declaration that Kunishige's inaction had led to the criminal sorcerer clans across Japan being able to terrorise the nation unimpeded, Soga appeared to acknowledge Yura, given his subsequent promise to take over the situation and Yura's body but give it back to him afterwards.
Relationships
Kunishige Rokuhira
In the past, Soga was Kunishige's closest and most trusted ally, to the point where Kunishige entrusted Shinuchi to him as the core of his Enchanted Blades' Lifelong Contract system; were Soga to die, the other sword bearers would die too. However, after the course of the war, Soga used Magatsumi to unleash Malediction, causing roughly 200,000 casualties.
Kunishige spoke little-to-nothing about Soga or his blade to his son Chihiro after the war, in stark contrast to how he spoke amicably about the other sword bearers such as Uruha and Samura.
Soga views Kunishige favourably, having referred to him as 'brother', indicating closeness. He did not seem overly affected when Yura informed him of his responsibility in killing Kunishige, only noting that it made sense given the sudden movement of the Enchanted Blades.
Seiichi Samura
In the past, Samura fought side by side with Soga in the Seitei War. In the present, however, as with all the other Enchanted Blade bearers from the Seitei War, Samura wishes for Soga to die for his actions committed in the war and is devoted to killing him, having made a deal with the Hishaku to do so. Notably, Soga came to mind when Samura discussed their crimes; likely due to the horrific atrocities resulting from Soga's use of Malediction.[1] Whereas with the other sword bearers Samura had planned to kill them but use Suzaku to resurrect them, but breaking their Enchanted Blade contract in the process, Samura wanted to eliminate Soga so as to eradicate the possibility of a second Malediction and ensure only Samura himself of the sword bearers would die in the process.[2]
Yura
Yura initially viewed Soga as insane; while he approved of Soga's actions and Malediction, he believed that Magatsumi was in dangerous hands and needed a different wielder to maintain order. However, after making dialogue with Soga in the lowest level of Kamunabi Headquarters and discovering Soga was entirely in possession of his mental faculties, both during Malediction and in the present, Yura was impressed and proposed that they form an alliance instead given they could understand each other.
Soga, for his part, merely viewed Yura as someone he could talk to after 18 years about the outside world. He had a very muted reaction to Yura's declaration that he approved of his actions, merely asking who Yura was. After Yura made his declaration to Chihiro that the criminal organisations of the world had been exploiting the innocent for years without the Enchanted Blades being mobilised to stop them, Soga told Yura to relax and hand over control of his body, promising he would return it, indicating an acknowledgement of Yura's view from Soga's part.
Plot
Past
The Master Swordsman, Akemura Soga, in the Seitei War.
Prior to the Seitei War, Akemura Soga's exceptional skill in the way of the sword was already renowned.[3]
As the Seitei War began 19 years ago, Kunishige Rokuhira forged six Enchanted Blades. He deemed it necessary to implement a security system to ensure the blades could not be used by anyone, but due to time constraints Kunishige resorted to linking the resulting Lifelong Contracts together; the five other blades connected to Magatsumi. Kunishige entrusted the blade to Soga, who was his most trusted ally of the time; were Soga to die, the other sword bearers would die soon afterwards.[4][5]
Over the course of the war, the Enchanted Blades pushed the invaders back and began driving onto the island itself. The islanders eventually surrendered and a peace treaty was drawn, but Soga had decided to annihilate the islanders over the course of the war, believing it necessary in order to protect the people of Japan.
Utilising the True Realm of Magatsumi's abilities, Soga activated the technique Malediction and the blade harmonised with his desire for murder. The technique manifested as endless fields of flowers with Centipedes crawling and butterflies flying over the landscape, resulting in around 200,000 casualties.
The Dungeon, where Soga is imprisoned.
After the catastrophe, the five other Enchanted Blade bearers were able to subdue Soga, after which he was locked in a barren underground prison containing ten circular pillars providing him the minimal amount of energy to stay alive. In order to maintain peace within Japan, Soga's actions were attributed to the Seitei War and the islanders were portrayed as monstrous, depraved savages that deserved to be annihilated in order to protect the nation.[6][7][8]
After he was imprisoned, there was no time to psychologically examine Soga, so it was incorrectly diagnosed based on conjecture that Soga must have lost his mind over the course of the war after seeing the bloodshed of war and being enveloped by Shinuchi's powers; plus the known fact that insanity could amplify sorcerous abilities. They had no further proof, and no desire to interact with him lest he be stimulated.[9]
Even after Soga was separated from Magatsumi and locked away, the flowers remained on the island to the present day.[10]
Prior to the Hishaku's submission of Magatsumi to the Rakuzaichi, Yura charged his spirit energy into the blade but did not display a desire to use it, intending to discover what would happen if someone tried to use the blade.[11]
Rakuzaichi Arc
Soga twitched when Kyora Sazanami conducted a run-through of the Rakuzaichi auction on the 1st of November.[12]
Soga activates Magatsumi.
One week later, on the day of the 208th Rakuzaichi, the 8th of November, as Kyora took Magatsumi out of its box in an attempt to use it to fend off Chihiro Rokuhira within his Storehouse, Soga detected that Kyora was wielding the blade and activated it at 3:47 pm by calling its name, Magatsumi, shadows beginning to cover Soga's eyes.
A droplet of spirit energy fell from the still-sheathed blade and formed a dark circular patch on the ground, flowers blooming from the ground and a singular butterfly of spirit energy appearing and merging with Kyora's Magatsumi-clutching hand. In this manner, Kyora was granted access to Magatsumi's spirit energy amplification and its techniques, the amplified spirit energy taking the shape of a massive butterfly above Kyora. Kyora noted he could only channel a fraction of the blade's power, but it was already surpassing his expectations, before darting forward to slash at Chihiro, the still-sheathed blade clashing evenly with Enten.[13]
Soga promptly began invading Kyora's mind, which Kyora noticed, shadows slightly descending over his eyes representing the attempted possession. Refusing to allow Soga to possess him, Kyora resisted the presence with everything he had while simultaneously fighting Chihiro and Hiyuki, causing his mental state to deteriorate significantly.[14]
This deterioration was physically manifested within his Storehouse, which quickly began crumbling and soon forced the three combatants out. Kyora continued to resist the possession with everything he had, kneeling on the Rakuzaichi stage as the dark patch flooded out of Magatsumi, the resulting flower field killing large numbers of auction-goers. Kyora was able to hold out long enough for Chihiro and Hakuri to successfully rescue all remaining prisoners within the Storehouse, by refocusing on his sheer dedication for the Rakuzaichi to proceed, and Kyora remained as himself even when his body finally succumbed to his injuries and died.[15]
Sword Bearer Assassination Arc
Between the 8th and 14th of November, a stake was added to the Soga's prison and he was chained to it.[16]
Soga moves for the first time in 18 years.
On the 14th of November, Soga attempted to stand up. The stake was not present.[17] As he did so, he called Magatsumi upon detecting Yura had placed spirit energy within Magatsumi and intended to use it, allowing Yura to access Magatsumi's abilities.[18] Soga then began attempting to invade Yura's mind, Yura struggling with the mental attack and realising the true depths of Kyora's mental fortitude as he battled Uruha, Natsuki Misaka and Soshiro Azami. Yura was nonetheless internally adamant that he would reach and kill Soga.[19]
By the time Yura had gotten past Azami, Uruha and Natsuki and arrived directly above the Dungeon, Soga had finished standing up.[20] Sometime during this process, Soga had stopped his mental invasion of Yura in order to let Yura get close to him so Soga could ask him about the outside.
Yura knelt down and placed a hand at the top of the Soga's prison and noted he could hear him due to the Shinuchi link. Yura declared he was there to kill him and Soga idly stretched, commenting on how long it had been since he had talked to someone and asking about the weather outside. Yura noted it had been reported that Soga was insane and Soga scoffed, noting he had committed genocide with a perfectly normal state of mind, unnerving Yura. Standing back up, Yura asked if Soga had deliberately stopped his mental invasion and Soga responded he wanted to hear about the outside, but wanted to keep a level of distance. He then asked if Kunishige was dead, to which Yura admitted his involvement.
Yura proposes an alliance with Soga.
Soga stated that made sense with how the Enchanted Blades had been moved, and reasoned that Yura was there to kill him. Yura responded that that was the original plan, as flowers erupted near Yura to reveal the form of Magatsumi emerging, which Yura grabbed. Yura declared he would correct the mistakes of the nations' 'heroes' and revealed he approved of Malediction, a solution that could bring order to the world; rejecting it, as Kunishige had done, was something Yura saw as a mistake. Yura mused that if Soga had been insane, he had thought someone else should wield Shinuchi and he would take on the role of establishing order; but now knowing Soga had been sound of mind, Yura proposed they join forces instead. Soga questioned who Yura was.[21]
Later, as Yura was teleported by Shiba outside and began confronting Samura and Chihiro,[22] Soga began observing Yura in silence as he decided to fight the two swordsmen to prove his beliefs. While Yura did so, Soga continued to not attempt to take control of Yura.[23] Soga was briefly able to glimpse Yura's memories, seeing a moment shortly after the war where Yura lived peacefully with his wife, and noted that Yura had likely lived in an area greatly affected by the war.
After Yura was impaled and inflamed with Suzaku, his connection with Magatsumi weakening, Yura shouted his declaration that the criminal organisations that had been victimising the populace for years could have been stopped with the Enchanted Blades had Kunishige not taken them away. As Yura continued destroying his body to keep his control of Magatsumi and stave the tide of Suzaku's flames, Chihiro impaled Yura again and doubled the flames on his body.
Yura was knocked to the ground, Magatsumi aside, weakly groaning that they needed a hero. Soga then told Yura to relax and hand over control of his body, promising to return it. He stated he now understood the situation, and would be the hero, before collapsing. Yura's body was then overrun by flowers all over, while the flames on Magatsumi dissipated and flowers emerged around it as the blade began unsheathing.[24]
Abilities
Overall Abilities: Based on his title, Soga can be assumed to be an extremely powerful individual. He was entrusted with wielding the Enchanted Blade Magatsumi in the Seitei War, and his blade was noted to have an especially large role in turning the tides of battle and ensuring Japan's victory.[25]
As a sorcerer, Soga has accomplished the first stage of spirit energy usage, being able to use his spirit energy to strengthen his body to superhuman levels.
Soga apparently has the ability to detect the movements of the Enchanted Blades.[26]
Combat Prowess
Master Swordsman: It can be assumed based on his title that Soga is an immensely skilled swordsman, being one of the six Enchanted Blade bearers who fought and helped achieve victory during the Seitei War, and the one trusted by Kunishige to wield his strongest sword Magatsumi. His strength with Magatsumi was so great that it necessitated the combined forces of all five other sword bearers in order to halt his rampage.
Equipment
Magatsumi
Magatsumi (
Magatsumi is unique among Enchanted Blades in that it has the ability to bypass its Lifelong Contract. When Kyora Sazanami unboxed the blade, Soga immediately called the blade's true name Magatsumi, summoning a flower field and spawning a butterfly, imbuing it within Kyora and granting him access to the blade's techniques. However, Kyora noted he was unable to draw the blade fully from its sheath, and was merely able to channel a small fraction of its power.[27]
While proxy wielders are using Magatsumi, Soga can attempt to possess them, shadows forming over his eyes as well as those of the proxy wielder's. The shadows over the proxy wielder's eyes may shift lighter or darker to reflect their resistance to Soga's possession.[28]
Techniques
Etymology
The name Akemura Soga (
曽 (So): Means "former" or "before".我 (Ga): Means "ego" or 'self'.明 (Ake): Means "light" or "bright".無 (Mu): Means "none" or "nothing".良 (Ra): Means "good" or "pleasing".
Trivia
References
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 58 (Pages 7-8).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 82.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 64 (Page 5).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 72 (Page 14).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 31 (Page 12).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 72 (Pages 3-8).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 18 (Pages 14-15).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 86 (Pages 16-17).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 100 (Pages 4-5).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 74 (Page 3).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 94 (Page 16).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 21 (Page 18).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 40.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 41.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapters 42-43.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 81 (Page 2).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 86 (Pages 17-18).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 94 (Pages 17-19).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapters 95-96.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 99 (Pages 18-19).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 100.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 101 (Pages 15-19).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapters 102-103.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 104.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 31 (Page 12).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 100 (Page 9).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 40.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapters 41-42.
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 72 (Pages 6-7).
- ↑ Kagurabachi Manga: Chapter 74 (Page 3).