Chapter 12

Old Man of the Land and Aria of the Night Sky (Part 4) (土翁と空夜のアリア④, Tsuchi Okina to Kuu Ya no Aria 4) is the twelfth chapter in the D.Gray-man series written and illustrated by Katsura Hoshino.

Synopsis
As they fall down a hole at rapid speed, the child and Guzol cling to one another, the child digging her fingers into the wall to slow their descent. When they fall into a room with sand covering the floor, the child’s hat is tossed aside, showing her face and revealing her for what she is; the true doll.

Guzol frets over her, then begins coughing heavily, blood coming from his mouth.

The doll, Lala, comforts Guzol, noting that he doesn’t have much time left.

Elsewhere, Allen is crawling around through his hands and knees through narrow passageways, lost.

As he laments and wishes he had his golem, Timcanpy, the very same golem, who is with Kanda and the Finder Toma, begins eating his way straight through a wall.

Kanda and Toma do not notice, facing instead the mirror image Allen they know to be a fake. Kanda unsheathes his Anti-Akuma Weapon, Mugen, and launches an attack, only for Allen to break out of a nearby wall and block the damage.

When Kanda demands an explanation, Allen says that the false Allen is not the Akuma, using is eye to tell the truth. He then tears the false Allen’s face away to reveal Toma, and behind Kanda the other Toma, who is now known to be a fake, reverts partway back to its original form, that of the Level Two Akuma, and attacks Kanda, sending him flying straight through the wall.

Disarmed, Kanda is pinned to the wall by the Level Two, who unzips its own face and sheds Toma’s visage. The Level Two reveals that it put Allen’s image on Toma and took Toma’s visage for itself to confuse Kanda, as Toma is more or less symmetrical.

The Level Two then uses its copy of Allen’s Cross Anti-Akuma weapon to inflict heavy damage upon Kanda, slashing across his chest diagonally.

When the Level Two demands that Kanda dies, Kanda refuses, saying he can’t die until he finds ‘that person’. Kanda then passes out on his feet, and Allen throws himself at the Akuma, tossing it aside with his Cross and turning to Kanda. When he notices that Kanda is still breathing, Allen takes both Kanda and Toma and begins fleeing with them.

As he carries his injured comrades, searching for a safe place to hide them, Allen hears singing.