Review of ブラックナイトパレード 7 (Black Night Parade, #7) by Hikaru Nakamura

** spoiler alert ** To sum up this volume of Black Night Parade:

They’re in the future. The gang meets their friend, who is possessed by a giant rat, but he also has a hate arrow in his heart (the opposite of a Cupid’s arrow). The rat attacks our MC, whose blood turns the rat into a boy named Atlas, but he’s still a rat? Atlas is also MC’s uncle and the brother of the former Santa Claus who is strangely attracted to the MC’s mom because she was nice to him as a rat when she was held captive by said rat.

The friend is no longer possessed by Atlas, and I guess the hate arrow doesn’t work anymore—it’s never mentioned again.

Drosselmeyer activates a toy army, which he didn’t do before though there were plenty of opportunities. The army does nothing, but he uses unexplained mind control of Atlas to force him to attack the group. Because he still has rat strength and endurance.

The crew tries to use a golden arrow (arrow of friendship) on Atlas to get him on their side, but it doesn’t work. MC cross-dresses as his mother to overcome the mind control because rats have poor eyesight and a good sense of smell. What was the point of the golden arrow? I don’t know. I also don’t know why his name is Atlas, a Greek Titan’s name, and his brother, former Santa, has a traditional Japanese name.

MC and one friend use Atlas’ rat strength to carry them and run away… and then they return immediately and nothing was gained from the retreat.

Drosselmeyer shows up, as does the MC’s dad, aka, former Santa. And Drosselmeyer also brings his “children” which are dead humans he turned into zombified rats? And I guess she killed a bunch of people in Atlas and the former Santa’s village in the past? Anyway, the MC’s dad and one companion are killed (?) by a sword, which his dad pulls by changing his giant needle into said sword. This sword is the word of Chronos, the Greek king of the Titans, which sends anything it touches to the end of time. (?) I guess in our Santa Claus story we need mind-controlled zombie humanoid rats and Greek Mythology. Oh, and one of his companions dies, but since this is the future, it doesn’t matter.

Black Santa, who is now a mind-controlled red Santa takes the sword, but immediately gives it to the MC when the MC asks for it. The MC can wield it because he’s supposed to be the next Santa. He uses it to cut off the hand of Drosselmeyer because his watch does—something. The MC goes to the end of time, but not Drosselmeyer, though he was touched by the sword?

Also, people get cards that give them superhuman abilities, but I guess they are drained by the use of them?

I liked it better when the crew were elves working for Black Santa.