The Introduction Arc is the first story arc in The Promised Neverland series. The arc introduces all the main characters, the demons and important plot threads to the future of the series.
Summary
Grace Field House (
Synopsis
Emma and her friends have a very good life in the orphanage in which they grew up. Although the rules are strict, the caretaker is gentle. But why are children forbidden to leave there...?
Plot
The orphans waking up.
A girl named Emma begins to chronicle the basics of her life by presenting the Orphanage Grace Field House as her home, Mama Isabella as her "mother", and the children there as her siblings. Showing her scene waking up and waking up the other children, Emma says they should wake up at 6 o'clock sharp with a bell ringing. She helps the younger kids straighten up and runs into the dining room, where Thoma and Lannion were playing catch. Emma says she will eat them and runs after them. She enters the kitchen, where Ray and Norman are greeted. Ray asks if she is five because of her pranks, irritated, she reminds him that she is eleven years old just like him. Mama calls her, frightening Emma at first, who thinks that she would receive a scolding from her. She cries and says that she will do everything as an adult, but Mama says that she loves his attentive and affectionate side, leaning her forehead on hers, cheering Emma up. Emma narrates that she loved them and considered them her family, even though they had no blood ties, and that this was her home, while they were shown eating.
Ray and Norman greeting Emma.
After breakfast, everyone begins to take their daily tests, which Emma comments on happening daily to replace a conventional school. After sixty questions with ten seconds each, Mama announces that Emma, Ray and Norman took the perfect scores, 300. She congratulates Emma affectionately, who comments that Mama's compliments were worth the effort of the tests. The children go outside to play tag, where Norman is the one to pick to be "it". He begins to count and everyone else flees into the forest. As she runs through the forest, Emma sees the gate. It is the only forbidden place to go, the place that gave way to the outside world, which they have never seen. Emma remembers when she, Norman, and Ray went to the gate secretly when they were children, but did not go through it when remembering the order of Mama.
Near the fence, Gilda complains that she has not received any letters from her adopted siblings, saying that now that they are living well, they have forgotten them, wanting to leave the orphanage soon to wear various new clothes. Emma comments that what they know in the outside world is through books, magazines, and research. Not far from there, Don was astonished to find that almost everyone had been caught by Norman, but now Emma was missing. After much persistence, Norman manages to get her, Emma asks how good he is, although he has never beaten her in a race. Ray says that Norman had tactics, explaining that he watches as the target moves and thinks about how he should attack as if it were a high-level chess game.
Norman's chess game.
Norman appears and asks if it was not what made the game fun, taking advantage to say that he thought Ray a better strategist than him, causing distrust in him to be praising much. By far the other children admire the intelligence and agility of Emma, Norman, and Ray. Don goes to Norman and says he will have a revenge, proposing that this time be against Norman, he agrees, saying he would not get caught. Don says that he will regret his words by telling Conny that they would catch him by making Emma remember that this was the girl's last day.
At dusk, the orphans all came to bade farewell for Conny. Having her stuff animal next to her, Conny tried to cheer her brooding siblings up and modestly explained how she is average compared to her older siblings. After Conny leaves, Emma is thoughtful, remembering all of the sad farewells of the last ten years, thinking that the next one to leave is either Norman or Ray. Emma then walks into the kitchen and finds Conny's favorite toy, Little Bunny. Emma, alongside Norman, decide to take the toy to the gate to return it to Conny.
Emma and Norman froze in horror upon seeing the corpse of their dead friend.
Reaching the dark exit of the orphanage, Emma and Norman searched every nook and cranny of the place. As Emma scanned through a section of a truck, Emma was frightened to her wits, as she discovered a corpse which turns up to be Conny with a blooming Vida sticking out of her chest. Both Emma and Norman were traumatized at the sight of their deceased sibling, as they forged to hide under the deck of the truck when a dark figure approached into the vicinity. Shocked and frightened by the giant figure, Norman and Emma gasped as they witnessed the Grace Field Boss Demon as well as two lesser Demons approach the truck. And even more so when they discovered that their own guardian had been working with the demons behind their back. As the demons placed Conny's corpse into a jar after the completion of the Gupna ritual, Norman and Emma run back toward the orphanage. As they reached a safe distance away from the exit, a devastated Emma collapsed onto the ground, as she recalled the sighting of her sibling's death and Isabella's betrayal. Questioning an equally distraught Norman on how are they going to survive, Norman patted Emma and consoled her.
Norman consoling Emma.
The Grace Field Boss Demon hands Mama Little Bunny, who he found under the truck, ordering her to throw it away. Returning to the scene where Emma is comforted by Norman, she says that everything has changed after that, Norman tells them to flee from there, even though he knows nothing of the outside world, keeping in mind that they and Ray may be next. Emma, crying, asks if it is possible to take the children, not supporting them to die that way, he smiles at her and says they will be able to get away with everyone. Returning to Emma in her bedroom, she says she does not want to cry anymore, thinking that to escape from there, tactics like the tag game were necessary so that they could all survive.
Characters
Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
- 1.1 - Children have identification numbers on the neck;
- 1.2 - Every morning the children take exams of exact sciences with the aid of modern machines;
- 1.3 - In the examinations, there is an initial screen that indicates the age and also the "type" of the child/proof;
- 1.4 - Ray always prefers to stay out of the jokes;
- 1.5 - In the forest, there are fences that delimit the maximum that the children can walk around;
- 1.6 - None of the children has ever seen or had any recollection of the outside world;
- 1.7 - Children know what the world is like out there through books and magazines;
- 1.8 - Ray has a watch;
- 1.9 - Conny's plush, although important to her, was abandoned in the cafeteria;
- 1.10 - Conny is found dead inside a truck with a mysterious flower rising in her chest;
- 1.11 - Mama works for the demons;
- 1.12 - The demons evaluate the quality of the merchandise by age and by the results of the exams;
- 1.13 - An unnamed demon mentions that the trap is ready;
- 1 (Extra) - In the color double page of this issue, Ray is the only child to appear on his back;
Gallery
Trivia
- The first person to speak in the manga is Isabella calling Emma over to her.
- This chapter begins the Introduction Arc.
- This is the chapter with the most pages currently.
- In the chronological order of the series, this chapter takes place on October 12, 2045.
The Iron Woman (鉄の女, Tetsu no On'na?) is the third chapter of The Promised Neverland. It is adapted into episode 2 of the anime.
Synopsis
While Emma and Norman continue to investigate and theorize about the new reality they discovered, Mama goes on her own research to find the two children who have discovered everything.
Plot
With a narrative of Emma about her disappointment in knowing that Isabella was really an enemy, Norman says that she was not his mother and not human, but a demon in disguise. Throughout the day, while they do their chores, they are tired of the drastic change of reality. Thinking about the fact that they are human flesh, they wonder how the demons saw their quality standard, coming to the conclusion that age defined quality in the ranking, believing that the top quality was 12 years old, the age at which the children went Though anyway. They wonder why they are sent 6-12 years old when Norman realizes it must be the brain, considering that an adult brain is 90% developed at age 6. They entered the orphanage and decided to look for a rope to escape. Before that, Emma asked about the transmitters, which could disturb them, but Norman commented that he checked the beds and clothes and found nothing, disappointed that they were stapled instead of the house. Emma says that Isabella may know they went to the wall, but Norman comments that she only knew where they were when she saw the "clock" and also, had she known, had not made her demonstration in the case of Naila's disappearance. Before Norman could complete his reasoning, he was called by Don to fix the clock in the room.
Emma looked at the picture with the drawings and remembered the drawing done by Conny. Out of a sudden, Isabella appeared in front of Emma and scared her. Realizing this, with much effort, Emma managed to calm down physically but emotionally was greatly shaken by the love of Isabella was always a lie. She invented that she would miss the house and Isabella when she leaves, hugging her and saying she loved her, surprising Norman. Then she says if she asks how Conny was, by her dream of being a mother, Isabella replies that she hopes and is sure that this will happen, irritating and surprising Norman because she is so resolute and determined, like an iron wall. Knowing this, Emma almost loses control of her emotions, but Ray interrupts the conversation, summoning them to dinner. While all the kids headed into the dining room, including Emma and Norman
After Isabella left, Emma fell onto the ground due to the exhaustion of containing both her emotions, Norman helped her to get up and confirmed that Isabella was suspecting them, knowing that her target was two children, arriving at the conclusion that the transmitters are not able to identify the person. With everyone going to dinner, Isabella, in her thinking, confirms that no child was with a reaction that stood out from the normal, noting that Emma's heartbeat was normal when she spoke of Conny. As Emma and Norman enter the hunt for the ropes, Isabella, in her bedroom looking at herself in a mirror, says she will not let anyone escape and that only she would survive by revealing her identification number.
Characters
Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
- 3.1 - Caretakers cannot identify which children are in a prohibited area with only their transmitters;
- 3.2 When Mama seems to evaluate Emma's reactions, Ray arrives at the right time and distracts her;
Trivia
- It is revealed that Isabella's number is 73584.
- It is revealed that the year is 2045.
- In the chronological order of the series, this chapter takes place on October 13, 2045.
- As seen in the memory of Chapter 13, Ray was the one who lured Emma and Norman to Isabella and the demons in the events of this chapter.
- Chapter 3 shows that Mom is an enemy, and demons aim for the brain. Originally, the latter information was supposed to be revealed in chapter 6. But they decided to clarify the reason behind educating the farm children as soon as possible.[1]
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The Best Option (最善, Saizen?) is the forth chapter of The Promised Neverland. It is adapted into episode 2 of the anime.
Synopsis
Emma and Norman get a new ally who will contribute much to their escape plans.
Plot
In a flashback, Emma and Norman enter the warehouse in search of a rope, an essential item for their escape. Meanwhile, Ray noticed that the two of them ran into the forest. Emma found a tablecloth and forehead, deciding that this would be her rope. Emma later hid the ropes in a tree inside the forest. As they head towards the orphanage, Emma asked if it is time to tell Ray the truth, Norman agreed, because his intelligence would be of the utmost importance, and said he will speak to Ray directly.
Ray choking Emma and Norman, demanding them to tell him what was going on.
At this point, Ray revealed to be stalking them as he heard their conversation when they were not noticing. The former then forced them to tell him everything, explaining that he had noticed their strange behavior and that they returned empty-handed even after saying that they could not.
Near the house, Isabella, while playing with the children, looks at the tree and realizes that Ray was not there. After telling him everything, Ray is surprised to hear all this, understanding the reason for the windows to have grills, surprising Emma once again to have understood everything. However, she asks if he was not doubting anything, Ray says that Norman would never create such a stupid lie, unlike Emma, frustrating her because Ray did not have faith in her. He says that the only problem with the escape is the number of people, and it is impossible to escape with everyone with such a large number of people, but Emma tells him that they will run away with everyone. Ray asks if this was a joke, recalling that there are more than 37 children, the majority under 6 years old, that would be an additional problem, She asked if she wanted to make things even more difficult. Annoyed, Emma says there must be another way, Ray explains that they will not just run away, they did not know the outside world and that there would be a nation of demons there, with no safe place for humans, so children would be a hindrance And that they should abandon them, being the best solution. But Emma ignores everything he said.
Then Emma makes it clear that she does not want anyone to die and that she wanted Conny to be the last dead child, stating that if there was no safe place, they would create one, they would be the ones that will change the world, stating Ray That this would be the escape of prisoners that they would orchestrate. Ray is speechless about the situation, thinking that Emma is crazy. She says she will not cry or back off, ordering Ray to stop complaining and cooperating. Ray, visibly angry, takes Norman the force away from Emma and tells him to "fix that idiot" to get her ideas out of her head. Norman says that night she saw Emma cry for fear of her family dying, unlike him that she was afraid of her death, considering her thought about the family as unbelievable. Ray says that this does not mean that she was right and that they should not sell themselves to the devil, for the perfect escape would be only with the three, asking him not to put his emotions on reason. Norman says he would not mind if he had to sell himself to the devil. Annoyed, Ray holds Norman by the blouse and asks why this, to which he replies that he cares for Emma and would do anything to make her happy. Ray gets scared and asks if Norman is crazy, he replies that he will not let her die and that he would use himself if necessary for anything, Ray calls him ridiculous, Norman says he and Emma went crazy, asking if Ray would leave someone In this state, in which he responds with a laugh. Asking him not to put his emotions on reason. Norman says he would not mind if he had to sell himself to the devil. Annoyed, Ray holds Norman by the blouse and asks why this, to which he replies that he cares for Emma and would do anything to make her happy. Ray gets scared and asks if Norman is crazy, he replies that he will not let her die and that he would use himself if necessary for anything, Ray calls him ridiculous, Norman says he and Emma went crazy, asking if Ray would leave someone In this state, in which he responds with a laugh. Asking him not to put his emotions on reason. Norman says he would not mind if he had to sell himself to the devil. Annoyed, Ray holds Norman by the blouse and asks why this, in which he replies that he cares for Emma and would do anything to make her happy. Ray gets scared and asks if Norman is crazy, he replies that he will not let her die and that he would use himself if necessary for anything, Ray calls him ridiculous, Norman says he and Emma went crazy, asking if Ray would leave someone In this state, in which he responds with a laugh.
Near the house, Mama looks on her radar for the location of the three. Ray gives them both a title book "Mechanical Engineering and the History of Humans," pointing out that the book had been published in 2015, 30 years ago, and the book with the most recent publication he found. Although 30 years have passed, Ray believes there is still a human society in the outside world, but before they act hastily, they should gather information, stating that they should successfully escape at any price, receiving Emma's support and Norman.
Characters
Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
- 4.1 - Mama Isabella has a room for Storage that she never allows children to access;
- 4.2 - Ray seems to have accepted the whole situation revealed too quickly;
- 4.3 - One of the latest books published in the world in a normal way dates from the year 2015;
Trivia
- In the chronological order of the series, this chapter takes place on October 15, 2045.
- Ray shows the latest book at the orphanage is a machinery book entitled "Mechanical Engineering and the History of Humans" by Alex Mikhaylov from 2015.
- Chapter 4 was drawn after the serialization meeting. Writing chapter 5 without chapter 4 was very difficult. It took half a year for Shirai to finalize chapter 4, that’s why only around 5 chapters were drawn completely before the serialization began.[1]
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She Got Us! (やられた！, Yarareta!?) is the fifth chapter of The Promised Neverland. It is adapted into episode 2 of the anime.
Synopsis
Isabella gives a task of preparing a room for Emma, Norman, Ray, Don, and Gilda, but the real reason for it can mess up her plans.
Plot
In the library, Emma discovered that the map used in the orphanage is 2010, showing sadness that they do not know how the outside world was today. Judging by the elements they had, Ray claims that the orphanage is located in a country in the northern hemisphere near the equator. In thought, Emma expresses her will to have power to save all of the demons from the outside world. She asks what would be the next step, when Mama reunites them with Don and Gilda to help her with some tasks.
The five begin to prepare a room. Emma is worried about the task, thinking it's because of Mama's suspicions, but Ray calms her down and tells her to think from the enemy's point of view: if none of the children were shaken, the obvious thing would be to suspect the elders. Norman says they should not lower their guard and Emma should not worry, because Mama had no idea who they were and what panic was what she wanted. Emma is surprised once more by the two, trying to understand her calmness. She understands that this is what they called strategy: to observe, to analyze, to predict the next steps of the enemy, aiming to reach them and be like them.
Three days later, on October 16, the five continue to work in the room, organizing food depots and cleaning unused rooms. The three begin to think about the reason for the tasks, Ray asks why they use their free time to do unnecessary tasks, Norman thinks she is trying to make them panic and not have time to think, and Emma expresses relief for them Had taken the tablecloth instead of shirts and sheets, if they had not already been discovered. Don screams that he wants to play, asking what they did to only them to do these tasks. Gilda calls Don to talk and they leave the room, leaving the three of them alone. Norman points out that they need to destroy Mama's radar to get away, but they still did not know where the transmitters were located, Since they found no scar on his body and nothing on his clothes. Because of the impossibility of creating microscopic transmitters, Ray theorizes that the transmitters may have been made by the demons, which would mean their ultimate defeat. Norman ends up frustrated by the lack of information they had to work on, oblivious to Isabella's calm attitude, wondering if that did not bother them. Ray asks if he did not feel that she was not even trying to find them, leaving all the stranger for her or knowing who the two children are. Meanwhile, her feelings about Isabella become more confused as she remembers that she was his mother, the one who taught them everything, remembering when she taught them chess.
They return to the room, where Don fights with them and asks them to stop wandering because they are the eldest. Emma apologizes and they return to work, with Don crying at the idea that they will do it again tomorrow. Outside, Mama stares at the bedroom window where they are when Phil and Sherry call, who ask when the elders will finish the chores because they want to play with them. She smiles and says it's their last day of work.
The next day, on October 17, Mama arrives at the orphanage with a new baby and a woman at her side, introducing them as Carol and Krone. The trio is stunned to see the new adult, with Norman, annoyed at not having predicted that Mama would bring an adult to the house, Noting that the threats and tasks were just a preparation for this.
Remembering again the chess match, they are surprised that they lost to her, where a little Norman says that it was as if she knew of his plans from the beginning, she responds that she knew because it was her mother. Back to the real-time, where Krone tells everyone that she will move in with them and that it was a pleasure to meet them, with an image of a demon in the background.
Characters
Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
- 5.1 - The country where the children live is unknown to them, they only know that it is somewhere in the northern hemisphere and near the equator;
- 5.2 - Mama asks the children to perform some seemingly useless tasks;
- 5.3 - Gilda calls Don to talk for a second during the chores;
- 5.4 - Mama deliberately taught a lot of strategy to the three protagonists when they were small;
Trivia
- Their world map exactly looks like the earth's world map. Theirs were published around 2010.
- In the chronological order of the series, this chapter takes place on October 15, 16 and 17, 2045.
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Carol and Krone (キャロルとクローネ, Kyaroru to Kurōne?) is the sixth chapter of The Promised Neverland. It is adapted into episode 3 of the anime.
Synopsis
The arrival of Sister Krone may risk the success of the children's escape, but they do not give up. Meanwhile, Mama gives her information from the orphanage.
Plot
While Mama introduced the new baby, Carol, and Sister Krone to everyone, a narrative of one of the three is astonished that they have another child to save, seeing Krone as an enemy and another wall to overcome. In a whisper, Norman comments that the orphanage has 16 children under the age of 3 to save and Ray that has increased the number of enemies and Emma says that things have complicated.
Mama does not need the children to play so she can talk to Krone. Norman punches a tree in anger because the situation has complicated, Ray agrees and does not like her to stay in the room they cleaned. Norman is annoyed with himself for not having noticed the obvious clues left by Mama, commenting that they were caught with low guard even with all the information that they had, believing that they already lost to her and that they were under its control, being its only future the death. Ray says that if they want to escape, they must surpass their mother and that they should not panic because it was part of Mama's plan, stating that she is trying to intimidate and subject them, but as long as they can escape, The victory is still theirs. He also comments that they have two new sources of information, exactly what they needed,
Close to the house, Phil and Shelly are happy they can finally play with Emma and Norman, so they go to the tree they usually stay in, but who was there was Don, who was trying to imitate Ray, Gilda, and Anna. Phil expresses sadness and says he wants to play with them and feels like they are not present for days, Gilda is silent, looks at the ground and agrees, asks where they fled.
In a part of the forest, Emma says they must find out where the two came from. Norman deduces that Carol is a substitute for Connie, they were replenishing the stock. Ray assumes that there is a source of the demons that are producing children for consumption, surprising Emma. With the arrival of Krone, Norman says there must be other adults on other farms like this, but the question was how and why they served the demons, which is the key to understanding the outside world. As Carol is new to the orphanage, they plan to discover the location of the transmitters through her. Ray simplifies everything in three points: adults are the key to the knowledge of the outside world, Carol will be the key to the discovery of the transmitters and Mama is strange, judging by her to know what they did but act as if she did not know, Although they do not know why. Emma is in charge of discovering the location of the transmitters through Carol, since only the girls can take care of the babies, and she says that she will give the best of her, that affirms that they will escape and will not lose to these filthy demons.
In the office, Krone thanks for the opportunity Mama gave him, but she says she just asked someone who could be her helper, not specifically her. Krone says she heard the rumors she was the youngest "Mama" chosen and who has been the one who has made the most quality continuous products in history, stating that she was his inspiration and that it was an honor to work with her. Mama ceases the compliments and delivers all the documents of all the children to Krone, asking them to memorize them at that time, citing that it is an easier task to make perfect note every day . Krone smiles and asks why she was called and she tells him that two of her children discovered everything and saw the truck. Krone says they should report to the top echelon, but Isabella stops by and says they do not need it, Should only prevent them from escaping before the day of the shipment, stating that their children are special and that this impacts on the prestige of the farm. She tells Krone that she will play the helper and watch over the children, but would allow her to act like someone like her. Mama asks if she understands and Krone says yes, calling her "Mama Isabella."
Characters
Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
- 6.1 - The demons "produce" or "steal" the children of approximately 1 year of age to supply the orphanages-farms;
- 6.2 - There are other farms and other "mamas";
- 6.3 - Mama does not seem willing to find out who the children are trying to escape or stop them;
- 6.4 - Isabela was the youngest human to receive the position of "Mama" and she is who produces some of the best merchandise;
- 6.5 - Krone was also a child who achieved maximum scores as a child;
Trivia
- According to Shirai, the series of orphans' drawings that are pasted on the walls of the orphanage were drawn by him.
- In the chronological order of the series, this chapter occurs on October 17, 2045.
It is revealed that Mama's name is Isabella.
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I Have an Idea (考えがある, Kangae Gaaru?) is the eighth chapter of The Promised Neverland. It is adapted into episode 3 of the anime.
Synopsis
After discovering the location of the transmitters, the next step is to prepare the children for flight without being aware.
Plot
It was October 18, 2045. Emma leaves cheerfully with a ball to play with her brothers, Mama Isabella stops her and arranges her collar, which she had not even noticed, causing Ray to call her a boy by relaxing, irritating her. Mama puts a hand to her left ear and Emma hugs her. Emma says goodbye and walks away from Mama, her expression of happiness and affection fading into both, with Ray congratulating her. Gilda and Krone watch Emma running. Emma, Norman and Ray meet in the woods and she tells what she found out about the transmitters, she apologizes because she had seen the marks before and had never said anything, but Norman says she did well and now they could give a close step:
They disclose the possibility of making an incision to see the transmitter because Mama always checks her left ears and would notice a bruise. Ray claims that transmitters have limitations because they cannot identify people and have no sign on the Gate or the wall, but even so, the Demons still trusted them and without them being destroyed, they can not escape. Norman creates a hypothesis that the transmitters would alert the demons if they were broken, scaring Emma, Ray says it's a possibility. The two begin to discuss when to break them, scaring Emma. Ray asks them to leave the part of the transmitters with him and the two of them agree. They go to the next part: how to take everyone with them. Norman says they will have to lie, Because the children believe in Mama and many do not deal well with the truth, Ray also comments that many have little breath and are dumb, causing the wrath of Emma, who tries to beat him. She reveals that she has an idea so they can get away with everyone.
9 days later, Ray is alone reading, he is approached by Mama, who asks where the others are, he makes himself misunderstood and says that they must be joking. All the children playing catch-all with Emma in the forest are shown. In a flashback, Emma tells them that her plan is to make a catch-up where they would exercise their physical and strategic abilities, allowing them to escape if they did so every day. She states that she will teach them how to move and the two would teach how to use the brain. Back to the present, Lani is running through the forest and sees a footprint, he remembers that Norman said forever to see the footprints, so he creates two false footprints and runs away in another direction, pleasing Norman, who hid everything. Elsewhere in the forest, Don analyzes the sound of the wind and realizes it's all right. Thoma is happy that he has not been caught yet, but is caught later by Norman. Ray tells him that hiding his tracks was not enough, should follow those of the enemy. Ray notices that Krone was no longer at Mama's side, and she notices herself. Krone appears in the woods and asks if he could join them.
Characters
Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
- 8.1 - The transmitters may be able to indicate to the enemy the moment they are removed or broken;
- 8.2 - Ray would be quite confident in how to eliminate transmitters;
Trivia
- In the chronological order of the series, this chapter takes place between October 18 and 27, 2045.
- This and Chapter 15 were the ranked chapters with the lowest position in the Table of Contents, is in 9th place.
- It is the first chapter of Volume 2
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Let's Play Tag (鬼ごっこしましょう, Onigokko Shimashou?) is the ninth chapter of The Promised Neverland. It is adapted into episode 3 of the anime.
Synopsis
Krone and the children play tag. Both Krone and the older trio will take advantage of this situation to analyze each other.
Plot
Following the events at the end of the previous chapter, Ray asks why Krone wants to play with them, she says she wants to be friends with everyone. Ray is bothered by this, but Norman claims she will not be able to find out anything. Emma changes her serious expression to a happy one, as she would act before discovering the truth, acknowledging that this was the opportunity of them knowing their enemy. Krone states that the time limit is 20 minutes and she will be the catcher, cheering the children. She counts to 10 and the game begins, with the children scattered in the forest.
In thought, Krone says so far he's only been a watchdog, but he would use this little test to find out who the targets are and be a step ahead of Isabella, determined to discover them and steal Isabella's charge. In a part of the forest, Norman deduces that Krone's plan is to come after the five older ones first and then behind the smaller children, which was true. However, Krone realizes the false traces left by children, understanding that all children are different from normal. She changes plans and leaves her radar aside, deciding to use the information of each child she memorized, stating that it was time to be serious.
Krone places a trail with marked leaves, these leaves attracted the attention of several children, who followed the trail and were caught by it, surprising the older trio. Then she picks up some older kids, like Nat, Anna, and Thoma. Krone chases Lannion through the forest, which enters a log to try to escape, but she breaks the trunk easily with a punch. Lannion runs to the other stuck children and claims that her sister is sinister, being surprised to see that Don and Gilda have already been caught. He asks if there are only 3 left, but Nat says Phil and Marnya are still missing. Emma runs to the two and prevents them from being caught, jumping to a deep part of the forest. Emma hides behind a rock and asks them to be quiet. Krone follows her and begins to look for her, Emma is surprised that she is not tired. Krone points out the weaknesses of the three: Norman's is the breath, Ray's that he gives up too fast and Emma's would be the naivety, being extremely optimistic, wanting to save others before him. She tells Emma that if she saw the harvest, she was at her side, finding it and picking it up next.
The children despair of missing only 2. With 8 minutes and 40 seconds left, Krone plans to pick up Norman and use the remaining minutes with Ray. The two go in opposite directions and Krone chooses to follow Norman. She is confident that she will catch him, but as she approaches him, he quickly leaves her, surprising her. She does not understand why she cannot catch him since she was clearly superior to him. She finally understands that Isabella's children are not special by their notes, being caught by Ray while she was distracted. All the children celebrate their victory. Krone compares the farm to a zoo of unpredictable dangers, she is sure that Norman and Ray are the targets, but she can not help but notice Emma. In thought, Emma is annoyed because she could not get away with the two of Krone, Stating that it was nothing compared to the demons. Norman and Ray decide they should escape in small teams, led by the three. Seeing that the strategy to get Krone worked, Norman says they can kill her without problems.
Characters
Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
- 9.1 - Krone seems to have a great amount of strength and vigour
Trivia
- The chapter ends the Introduction Arc.
- In the chronological order of the series, this chapter takes place on October 27, 2045.
- There is a small mistake during the game of tag. When Nat claims that 5 children are missing to be caught, Emma is shown saving Phil and Marnya from getting caught up with Krone immediately. However, before that happens, it is possible to see that who was next to Phil was Sherry, but later was changed to Marnya.
- The tag scene was not present in the prototype. The big difference between the serialized version and TPN prototype was that the prototype story showed an attempt to escape with only three people instead of escaping with everyone, so it was written without bothering about ways to escape with young children.[1]
- The concept for chapter 9 was making Norman and Ray look cool. At first, Shirai couldn't decide on who to focus on in the second half of the chapter. Sugita suggested focusing on Norman and Ray, as there were plenty of scenes focusing on Krone already. Sugita likes them so he remembers feeling happy to see it.[1]
- On the page of Norman looking down, Shirai put a side note that said “domination”. Sugita compared that scene to Lion King, and the revealing moment of Norman’s unsettling and scary side that wouldn't hesitate to kill Krone with a fork. Initially, he didn’t smile in this chapter. But in the finalized version he did. It was different from the misleading direction that Shirai had initially aimed for but he figured the readers would absolutely love Norman like this and the story would become more interesting.[1]
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Characters Introduced
- Emma
- Norman
- Ray
- Izabella
- Conny
- Gupna
- Gilda
- Don
- Phil
- Shelly
- Naila
- Sister Krone
- Carol
- Grandmother
- Nat
- Anna
- Thoma
- Lani
- Dominic
- Jemima
- Mark