Nine Tails is an ancient intermediate demon Holy Cross has never figured out how to exorcise, but the Kamiki clan is a different story. Freed from Nine Tails, Izumo’s mother Tamamo is able to see, stand, and perform the dance needed to dodge Nine Tails’ attacks, and transfer it right back to her own failing body.
This way, when Tamamo dies, Nine Tails dies with her. After years of, shall we say, somewhat shabby parenting, Tamamo comes through as a mother when it counts most: when the choice comes between her daughter’s death or her own, there is no choice. With her final breaths, she tells her beloved treasure that she’ll be okay, because she’s not alone: she’s surrounded by friends.
While this death scene is unfolding, Gedouiin prepares a last-resort device that will transfer Nine Tails directly to his body, with predictably grotesque results. I’m not going to linger on how out-of-left-field this is. Suffice it to say, just when Izumo believes she’s powerless, her fox-brothers Uke and Mike return to her. Turns out Shima “went easy” on them, but they still needed time to recover.
Now that Izumo knows she’s no longer alone and doesn’t have to fight alone, she asks her friends for help fighting off the waves of zombies while she recites the most powerful incantation of her life, one that transforms the foxes into fox-men. Resplendent in golden regalia, she rejects Gedouiin’s assertion that they both hate all humans. She once did, but not anymore. With the slash of her fan, she lets Gedouiin have it.
Shima pops in to grab what’s left of Gedouiin before disappearing, and the other Holy Cross branches arrive to bring the situation under control. Rin & Co.’s mission to rescue Izumo is a success, so it’s off to the hospital to heal the many wounds incurred from their exertion.
Izumo comes to in a hospital, still worried about the fate of Tsukumo, but Takara grants her a magic key that she uses to access Tsukumo’s new home. Her adoptive parents are Takara’s relatives, making her his cousin, but when Izumo appears before her, Tsukumo doesn’t recognize her.
That only makes sense, as she was only three when they were last together. Even so, Tsukumo remembers the fox doll Izumo returns to her, as she was told she had had it since she was a baby. It’s a bittersweet experience for Izumo, who returns to the hospital room she shares with a now-awake Shiemi.
For so long, Izumo had feared the worst had happened to her sister, but she was safe and sound all along. It’s a lot to process, and as a result Izumo starts to bawl her eyes out, while lashing out at Shiemi. But Shiemi’s smile is undefeated, and she’s relieved Izumo is able to cry, and be angry, and laugh. They cry it out together, and when Izumo hears Bon, Rin, and Koneko talking in the hall, she unleashes her foxes to playfully punish them.
After paying her respects to her mother’s grave, vowing not to feel sorry for herself any more, Izumo returns with her friends, has a tearful reunion with Paku at the train station (that also makes Shiemi cry, natch), and the whole gang (sans Shima) heads home together.
Despite some crosswinds, Ao no Exorcist managed to land the plane with an emotionally resonant and satisfying end to the Izumo rescue. While Gedouiin is still out there somewhere and the threat of Lucifer remains, all is well where it counts: in this circle of friends, and in Izumo’s heart.
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