It seems Amazon.jp and some other bookstores are sending out the second-to-last book rather earlier than expected. I am not sure why this has happened, but anyway, as I find more spoilers, I’ll continue to update this post. Please keep in mind that I may have misinterpreted some of the posts, so please take the contents of this post with a grain of salt. [Text in brackets are my comments]
[So far, there are not too many spoilers. More will be added as I find them.]
General impressions people are having (these are by nature subjective):
The scene(s?) with Ruka and Uu Uu are very moving. [In what sense, I don't know]
Riou, Ensei, Shuuei, Seiran have large roles.
Basically, the flow of the book involves the characters (the ones who are in or go to Kou Province, except for Reishin, who doesn’t appear even though he was as of last book in Kou Province) dealing with the locust plague successfully. Shuurei meets Ensei again, and while her life is running out, she works to stop the plague.
Some things are cleared up (probably those involving the Hyou clan, Shuurei, and possibly Ou Ki.)
More concrete details:
Seiga doesn’t appear, apparently.
Ryuuki doesn’t appear or doesn’t appear very much. [I was surprised by this, but multiple sources, so I think we can say this is confirmed.]
Also, Kouyuu, Yuushun, Reishin, Seiga, Kouki, Shouka, etc., don’t appear very much either.
The afterword says the next volume will be 500 pages. [If this is true, then the price is going to be even more than this vol.]
There is at least one death.
Ruka doesn’t die. [Or maybe not? Contradictory information here.] No, she dies. Eiki unexpectedly was still alive, but now she dies.
Illustrations include: Shuurei, Riou, Ruka, Seiran, Anju, Ou Ki, Ensei, Uu Uu. [There may be more]
The name of Kurou’s wife is revealed.
Someone claims that Uu Uu, Ruka[Not sure what is going on here. Some people said she lived, others that she died.], Rikka (the priestess who betrayed the Hyou clan to a certain unamed person), Eiki [Eh? But I thought she was already dead? Unclear.], and another person [not sure who this is; might be Ryuu Shibi?].
Shuurei only has one day left to live, but she can decide when that last day will be. Until then, she sleeps in one of the coffins in the Hyou clan.
Karin appears.
Sakujun “appears” but in the sense that Anju is speaking through him. It seems that many of his recent actions were not out of his own will, but because Anju was manipulating him. [Nooooo idea what is up with Anju.]
Ou Ki’s real name is Sou Ki. He is the one who is truly first in line for the throne, but Ruka acknowledged Senka merely to stop him from killing off the rest of the Sou line.
The Black Immortal ‘betrayed’ the other Immortals somehow, for the sake of a human. What is meant by this is unclear.
As always, Yuushun and Anju’s true motivations remain… unclear. [To be honest, at this point, this is the thing I was most curious about.]
Karin creates the mirror and survives. That the person who created the mirror would always die is just a superstition.
However, Ouyou Jun, Karin’s husband, is stabbed and now is having his life extended by the Green Immortal.
Various magicians sacrifice themselves in order to restore some broken sacred objects. [If this could happen, then what was the point of Anju? breaking them?]
Anju has a ‘contract’ with someone. [Possibly the Black Immortal, but this is not made clear.]
Yuushun and Kouyuu’s conversation (see the end of the last volume) is not made clear, but Yuushun gives Kouyuu something.
Illustrations, in more detail:
Shuurei, Shuuei, and Shusui.
Ruka and Shuurei.
Ryuu Shibi (Kou Province governor) and Ensei
Seiran and Ou Ki (Seiran is apparently pointing a sword at Ou Ki)
Shuurei, Ensei, and some masked person
Shuurei, Riou, and another person
Rikka, Ruka, and Anju [Anju, eh? Looks like we might be getting some answers about him, then.]
Uu Uu, and Ruka (borrowing Shuurei’s body)
