This Guy's a Pain

Cradling the wounded Momo, Okarun retreats from the shockwaves Unji unleashes as Umbrella Boy, seething that he cannot strike back. His petrification card now lies somewhere distant, lost after he invoked Rock-Hard Costinus to shield himself, so he can only curl over Momo when the next blast arrives. A cashier counter slams down to absorb it, and to his shock Rokuro steps forward, explaining that he trailed Okarun during the earlier chase after Vega, angling for a fresh part-time job lead.

Irritated that Okarun never explained how to reverse the stone curse, Turbo Granny crosses over to tend Momo. Vega then arrives, declaring he will arrest the lot of them whether or not this realm is genuine, and pairs with Rokuro against the yokai. Once a particle beam drives Umbrella Boy skyward, Turbo Granny warns that the creature cannot be felled by force alone; Okarun has to seize the kintama back to recover his abilities. She slips away to reach Rin, leaving him doubtful that his plain human frame is enough, even as he is named the lone hope.

Okarun's hopeless attempt to guard Momo ends when Rokuro and his nanoskin intervene. From there a fight breaks out, pitting Vega and Rokuro Serpo alongside Okarun against the Fairy-Tale Card animating Umbrella Boy. The pair lay down fire on the yokai while Okarun ferries Momo to safety. Turbo Granny concedes the enemy cannot be overpowered and that reclaiming the kintama is the sole route to a win. Once Momo is bandaged, she heads off to reach Rin, reminding Okarun that defeating the foe falls to him alone.

This Volume 18 installment pulls Rokuro Serpo and Masamichi Vega back into the Danmara Arc fray, widening the conflict. It also crystallizes Okarun's bind: stripped of the kintama he has no power, and retrieving it is the only way forward.