Kuusetsu

Kuusetsu (空折) is a character from the Japanese manga series Mato Seihei no Slave. She is one of the Eight Gods of Thunder who wish to destroy humanity and is an antagonistic character.

Characters Consumed

 * Naon Yuno
 * Koko Zenibako
 * Mira Kamiunten

Personality
As she was initially an impassive egg-like creature, Kuusetsu has no inherent personality of her own. However, after devouring and absorbing Naon and Koko, Kuusetsu inherited their personalities and became a vibrant and lively woman who is obsessed with beauty. Regardless, Kuusetsu remains devoted to the Eight Thunder Gods' mission to destroy all humans. After absorbing Mira, Kuusetsu's personality changed once more, becoming a bit more cocky and confrontational.

Motive
Initially, Kuusetsu devours other beings in order to "evolve" and obtain a human form. However, even after transforming, Kuusetsu retains a notable appetite and wishes to continue devouring humans, especially those she considers beautiful and those that have special abilities so she may absorb their powers. She appears to take delight in the act and even sings when she devours Mira. At one point, she abducts several women with the intent of devouring them once she has obtained a certain number of them. Why she required a certain number before eating them is unclear, but she seemed largely unfazed when her plan failed, despite claiming that she considered going on a destruction spree in retaliation.

Background
Little is known about Kuusetsu's background, but, as one of the Eight Thunder Gods, she evidently began her life as a large egg-like creature. As she needed food to develop, her fellow Gods supposedly brought a number of humans for her to devour, but Kuusetsu turned them away.

Mato Seihei no Slave, Chapter 43
Still in her larval egg form, Kuusetsu's fellow Gods abduct and present the unconscious bodies of Naon Yuno and Koko Zenibako to her, hoping that she will eat them. Ater briefly inspecting them, Kuusetsu eagerly opens up her "mouth" and devours them, first consuming Naon and then Koko. Afterwards, Kuusetsu enters an incubation period in which she absorbs Naon and Koko into her body and inherits their traits and abilities.

Interim
In Chapter 54, once the incubation period is over, Kuusetsu takes on a humanoid female form, physically similar to both Naon and Koko.

From Chapters 65 to 75, Kuusetsu invades the city of Yokohama and begins abducting human women with the intent of absorbing them. However, her plans are thwarted when Mira Kamiunten, Kyouka Uzen, and Yuuki Wakura of the Anti-Demon Corps rescue the women she had abducted. Kuusetsu attempts to abduct Yuuki in retaliation (during which she inserts a saliva-like "drop of a god" into his mouth), but is stopped by Mira. Kuusetsu initially attempts to flee, summoning several monstrous Shuuki to terrorize the city, forcing Mira to use her ability to clone herself to stop them. However, Kuusetsu is eventually coaxed into fighting Mira.

Mato Seihei no Slave, Chapters 76 & 77
Kuusetsu's battle with Mira grows intense as she is forced to transform into her powered up form. She manages to fight off most Mira's clones, but nearly takes a fatal hit. Still, she survives the attack and, seeing that Mira has grown weaker from using her clones, Kuusetsu admonishes her for trying to save the city. However, Mira rebukes, stating she had always intended to win. Kuusetsu is impressed by Mira's determination and comes to admire her strength and beauty. The two engage in a final clash from which Kuusetsu ultimately prevails. Victorious, she grabs hold of Mira (who is either unconscious or too weakened to resist), opens up the mouth in her torso, and proceeds to swallow her whole. As Kuusetsu devours her, Kyouka and Yuuki arrive at the scene and the horrified pair bear witness as Kuusetsu finishes swallowing Mira. Kuusetsu then absorbs Mira's body, gaining a set of zigzag streaks in her hair, as well as Mira's All-Killing ability that lets her clone herself.

Subsequently, Kuusetsu battles Kyouka and Yuuki, along with several other Anti-Demon Corps members who arrive to back them up. Gradually, Kuusetsu weakens throughout the battle as their combined strength proves too great. In the midst of the battle, one of Kuusetsu's own clones attacks her as it had been taken over by Mira who had not been fully absorbed. She strikes her own abdomen as if to stop Mira or force the absorption. She makes one final attempt to finish off Kyouka and Yuuki, but is defeated when Yuuki penetrates her body, freeing Mira, Naon, and Koko. Kuusetsu reverts to her egg form and attempts to swallow Kyouka, but she fails and her body is destroyed. However, her soul survives in Yuuki's body due to her inserting the "drop of a god" into him.

Method of Consumption
In her larval egg state, Kuusetsu can create a large mouth-like opening from her body and utilize several tendrils to grab and consume her prey. After swallowing her prey, Kuusetsu enters an incubation period and then transforms, inheriting some physical and personality traits, as well as any superhuman abilities, of those she has devoured. Since Kuusetsu was evidently very weak in this state, she required her Thunder God brethren to provide "food" for her that was already incapacitated.

After transforming into her female humanoid form, Kuusetsu can still devour humans by opening up a large mouth from her abdomen. From this mouth she can extend several tendrils, making it easier for her to grasp her prey and feed them into her body. This method is impractical for consuming active or resistant prey and so Kuusetsu must generally weaken or incapacitate her victims before consuming them. Just as before, Kuusetsu inherits physical and personality traits and abilities of anyone she devours.

Evidently, the people Kuusetsu absorbs are somehow shrunken or integrated into her body so as not to drastically change or increase her body mass. Additionally, Kuusetsu has a series of dots beneath her eyes that seem to indicate how many people or powers she has absorbed. For instance, two dots under each eyes means she has absorbed two people, while three dots under each eye means she has absorbed three.

Appetite
Although it is not her sole motivation, Kuusetsu still wishes to devour humans when she is hungry. However, she can be quite fussy about whom she eats both as an egg (as she had refused several other "meals" before Naon and Koko) and in her humanoid form as she refuses to eat people she considers ugly. Ideally, she also seems to prefer devouring people without their clothing as, when she abducted several women she planned on eating, she either stripped them of their clothing or abducted them when they were already in a state of undress. Those she absorbs apparently stop sating her after a while and she routinely becomes hungry for more. While already holding two people inside her, she evidently planned on eating several women she had abducted, indicating there seems to be no limit on the number of people she can eat. However, she also claimed that she was full after eating just Mira. When abducting women, she held off on eating them as she desired a certain number of them before doing so. Whether this was done out of preference or for some ritualistic reason is unclear.

Status of Swallowed Prey
Those swallowed by Kuusetsu are apparently kept alive but unconscious inside her, acting as living "batteries" for her body. According to Kuusetsu's ally, Shikoku, her victims can potentially live inside her for eternity, effectively making them immortal, though they remain trapped in suspended animation. However, in some circumstances, Kuusetsu's victims may resist from within her body and it may take time to fully absorb them. This is seen when Mira slows down the movements of Kuusetsu's clones and even takes control of one to attack her. Although her victims remain alive and intact, Kuusetsu's body dissolves their clothes, leaving them completely naked. Additionally, Kuusetsu's body seems to heal her victims as Mira, who was visibly injured right before being absorbed, appeared to be completely healed upon her release only minutes later. Victims that spend an extended period of time in Kuusetsu may also experience muscle atrophy as Naon and Koko's bodies felt sluggish after they were released.

Quotes
"An ability user is the best meal. Because they and their abilities become mine." - Ards Fansub

"I'm sure the two inside of me would be happy to get more company." (referring to Naon and Koko) - Ards Fansub

"You're pretty beautiful, Mira!" (last words said to Mira before absorbing her) - Ards fansub

"I just absorbed Mira, so I'm kind of full" (said to Kyouka and Yuuki after absorbing Mira) - Ards fansub

"And look what happened! She got absorbed and now you get this clone festival!" (said to Kyouka after she argues that Mira was correct in trying to stop Kuusetsu) - Ards fansub

"Don't give me that shit! I will soon have completely absorbed her..." (said after Mira takes over one of Kuusetsu's clones and attacks her) - Ards fansub