As promised, we find out more about Tokoyami, the god of darkness and his human partner (puppet?) Kurose in The Water Dragon’s Bride, Vol. 8! Tokoyami is still a bit of a mystery, but we do see Kurose’s history in this volumes and why he’s after Asahi!

My favorite part about Asahi getting kidnapped (that sounds terrible, but this is fiction!) is how the water dragon god can’t hide how he’s worried about her! Subaru was especially surprised seeing that gods can be this way…

I also love how Asahi stands her ground and calls Kurose out on his lameness. I’m sure if I were in her shoes, I’d be way more scared about being in the underworld and having no way out!

It turns out Kurose is from Asahi’s modern-day world, only he’s having a miserable life and almost welcomes this other world that he’s been pulled into. Tokoyami swoops in and decides to use Kurose for his own purposes…

See how the plot thickens in volume 9, which will be out on April 2 (and has a gorgeous Subaru on the cover)! In the meantime, here’s a free preview of volume 8.