Trinity Blood, Volume IX by Sunao Yoshida and Kiyo Kyujyo

Father Abel Nightroad, in his Crusnik form, fights Ion Fortuna's dead friend Radu Barvon. But Radu's body is being used as a puppet by a member of the Rosenkreuz Orden known as "Puppetmaster", and he can transfer some of his powers, like the ability to breathe fire, through his mystical control of his puppet.

As Abel continues to fight, Seth comes to his aid, and reveals herself to be the everliving emperor of the Vampire states, Augusta Vladica, And she, like Abel, is a Cruisnik. And his sister, or so it seems. She makes short work of the form of Radu Barvon, telling him he has done things to her children which cannot be undone.

Afterwards, she and Abel talk. She calls him "Big Brother", and we get to see a picture of four children wearing clothing with the same mark or crest on it. Abel, another man, Seth and another, older woman. They stand together as if they are related, and close, but the picture is burned, blocking out most of Abel's (?) face.

Meanwhile, Ion wants to see Esther again, but he realizes that she won't live as long as he will and he probably won't see her again in her lifetime, which causes him great pain, and in the end, he grieves for Radu, his Tovaras. Meanwhile, the Orden continue to plot, and a man resembling Abel, but with six wings adorning his back, approves heartily of their plans.

The story ends with a story based around Father Tres Iquis, part of a group of machines known as Killing Dolls. When he has to go up against Dos, his brother, who has upgraded himself to be faster and stronger than Tres, who will win as they clash?

Well, I knew Abel couldn't be the only Cruisnik in existence, but finding out that Seth is one also was interesting. It seems that the Cruisniks were an experiment, perhaps to have a weapon against the vampires. And all of them seem to be extremely old. Seth has ruled the Vampire Kingdoms for over 800 years, and Abel is familliar with computers and technology that the rest of the human world has forgotten. Could the six-winged man be a Cruisnik, too? He looks like one of the young men in the picture with Seth and Abel. And who is the other woman? No idea as yet, but it's interesting to see what might come.

Because much of the story in this volume was given over to the story of Tres Iquis, this feels shorter than other volumes of the series while being the same size. Yes, Tres is an interesting character, but I would rather have had more Abel and Esther than the Tres story.

A highly enjoyable series, beautifully drawn and interestingly shaded (on the inside) and colored (on the covers and inside bookmark). While not overly ornate, the tinted washes add a depth and intensity to the art that lifts it out of the usual run of art in Japanese manga. I am looking forward to much, much more.