Chapter 26

is the twenty-sixth chapter of the Fire Brigade of Flames manga series.

Summary
At the 8th Special Fire Brigade, Akitaru and Hibana are discussing the creation of the artificial Flame Humans, to which they conclude that inside of the corpses of artificial Flame Humans were gene of a particular Bug. Back in the streets of Shinjuku, Karim and Rekka spot Shinra and Arthur questioning their position by not attending the mission. Thinking about the situation, Shinra suspects that the culprit who used the Bug to turn the human into a Flame Human is one of the two Priests, or potentially both. Arthur rushes in to question them, but Shinra elbows him in the stomach, and tells the Priests that they got lost since they don't visit Shinjuku often. Tamaki walks over and reports to Rekka that all groups have succeeded in their mission, and so the members of the 1st return to their Matchbox. When Arthur and Shinra return to their dorms at the Cathedral, they discuss the events concerning Rekka and Karim. Shinra explains that it would have been too assertive and dangerous to confront the Priests at the time, which is why he waited till he returned and received orders from Akitaru. Arthur adds in that he spoke to sisters of the 1st and said that only the three Priests use the tunic that was seen injecting the man with the Bug, indefinitely making it them. Shinra points out that Arthur seems really motivated, to which he complies with, saying he can't condone such acts. As the two begin their investigation on Karim, Shinra explains that Takeru and Tōru are distracting him in the meanwhile. As they find the door locked, Arthur pulls out a mini-Excalibur which he swipes at the lock with, breaking it. Shinra whines at Arthur for leaving clues that they broke in, to which Arthur looks down on Shinra, calling him a coward, claiming you can't find out the mystery of the Human Body Ignition Phenomenon without using your strength always. As they enter and look around the room, they soon discover a vial with a Bug inside, the same bug used to turn the human into a Flame Human earlier that day. As they ponder at it, Karim appears behind them with a ruthless expression. The two turn around hesitantly, expecting and prepared to fight, though Karim walks in and sits on the bed. Karim explains that he knew the 8th were investigating the 1st, and that the left the Bug in the draw on purpose.