Jaeha's backstory and the reveal of Zeno's powers! Also cute Hak/Yona stuff, and some lovely dragon talk. ( )

After the intensity of the last volume, things are settling down for the Happy Hungry Bunch. They're back to roaming through the kingdom, looking for ways to right the wrongs of all of Yona's people. When a young boy steals food from them, they realize that he's not a bad kid, just hungry. They feed him and decide to escort him home, which happens to be across the border in enemy territory. Well, former enemy territory, as King Won recently won that region back to Kohka. The people in the village aren't as nice as the boy they've befriended, and some of this has to do with their hostility to strangers. As a border town, they are constantly being traded back and forth between kingdoms. Therefore, they're not very trusting of anyone. To complicate matters, the dragons started to fall sick as they journeyed closer to the boy's home. The villagers are wary that they're bringing some contagious disease into their midst, but Zeno reveals to the group that it's actually a result of the dragons traveling so far from the center of Kohka, the capital and the seat of the Crimson Dragon. The further they move from it, the more susceptible they become to germs and illness.

Begrudgingly, the villagers allow the group to stay on the outskirts of the village while the three dragons recuperate. Zeno is unaffected, and this volume finally shows why as Zeno's special abilities are revealed: Zeno can not die. He suffers pain when injured, but the injuries heal preternaturally fast, and if he takes enough damage in a short period of time, his body changes to a layer of impenetrable scales that it seems no weapons can cut. This reveal happens right at the end of the book. Some bitter soldiers, angry over losing their war against King Won, are returning to their kingdom and decide to destroy all the villages along their way so that Kohka won't have anything of value in the land they just reclaimed. Yona can't let such destruction happen, of course, and because most of the dragons are sick and not at full capacity, Zeno gets directly involved in the combat to protect Yona. The reader finally learns how powerful he actually is.

I'm super delighted with this reveal at the end of the manga. It's obvious that Zeno has some secrets, and when you have a character that should be super powered show up and not display any special abilities, you just know that they have something awesome up their sleeves. And Zeno doesn't disappoint with his absolute immortality. I was truly so happy; I love an underdog hero, and Zeno is such an adorable one. I already love pretty much everything about this series. Throw in the exciting Zeno reveal, and it's a full-star rating for me. ( )