Vol 2: We follow Maika as she seeks answers about the mysterious circumstances around her mother's death. She is still haunted by the memory of her mother, the life she had before the war, and the friend she left behind. By now, we know that her old friend Tuya is actually the Baroness of the Last Dusk and is currently hunting Maika down, but Maika doesn't know about this betrayal yet. We meet Seizi who is, at this point, the only character that genuinely cares about Maika's well-being since he raised her like his own goddess daughter, it was kind of endearing to see she had some semblance of family despite her clearly fucked up past. (Also young Maika was so cute, her mom was such a bitch) We learn a bit more about Zinn, the monster inside of her who seems just as lost as she does, they really mirror each other in ways that feel like it'll be important to the story later. We learn about Maika's lineage as she visits an isle in the mist that has more questions than answers (and a very annoying blood fox). I'm loving the pacing so far, the companion characters definitely add some levity to an ultimately gritty journey as Maika continues to eat people like every other day. Also I must say, nekomancers are just the most clever cat named lore and I love all the interludes we get about the cats. The monsters design was so reminiscent of manga with the eyes and vine-like limbs, I love that we got to see the monsters in full form through memories. Can't wait for more monster battles. Also Tuya is freaking me out and I hope she's actually not evil or something because I don't think our girl can handle more deceit and betrayal. She's barely holding it together.