Chapter 52

Echo, Part 2 (其の弐,) is the 52nd Chapter of the Bungo Stray Dogs manga.

Summary
Goncharov listens to classical music playing from the radio. He is communicating with Pushkin who is escaping Akutagawa and Atsushi in a mine cart. As Goncharov instructs Pushkin to escape alone, the latter reminds over the walkie-talkie that, if he is captured by the detective and mafia agent, his ability causing the virus will be stopped. Goncharov remarks that all he works for is for the leader of Rats in the House of the Dead — Dostoevsky — and his happiness. If necessary and asked of it, Goncharov would peel the skin from his own face with a knife.

Meanwhile, Pushkin, Atsushi, and an ailing Akutagawa race to keep up. Dazai manages to connect to them over their broadcast and tells them to leave Fyodor to him and they are to only focus on capturing and defeating Pushkin. Hearing this, Akutagawa is compelled to impress Dazai and activates his ability Rashōmon to attack Pushkin, who just laughs at him and degrades himself after failing to catch him.

Pushkin nearly escapes, but Atsushi sees Akutagawa falling behind and activates his own ability, allowing Akutagawa to ride on his back while he uses the tiger's strength to catch up. Suddenly, a large stone giant breaks away from the wall and appears to be animated by Goncharov, who then introduces his own ability, The Precipice.

Outside of the mine, Tanizaki monitors the ground from a helicopter with Kenji. They inform Dazai that they spot a few cars leaving at the same time from different tunnels. Dazai tells them that all of the cars are actually fakes and Fyodor isn't inside any of them because that is exactly what he would do. They see a person in a hood being escorted by through the woods and are also informed to ignore them.

Back inside, Akutagawa and Atsushi agree to team up once more and fight against Goncharov's stone titan. Atsushi becomes injured, but Akutagawa stabs Goncharov through the chest with Rashōmon. This Goncharov turns out to be a clay doll, and the real Goncharov emerges from the walls and tells Atsushi that he too has been infected with the virus from Pushkin's ability. They've played into Dostoevsky's trap.

Tanizaki and Kenji inform Dazai of a single figure walking below them through the woods, and Dazai tells all of them to go after them because that for sure is Dostoevsky. He is wrong after the troops corner a handcuffed hiker whose larynx has been crushed. Dazai reels from the realization that he has made a devastating mistake.

Akutagawa and Atsushi become trapped in a pit of quicksand as Goncharov walks away from them, telling them that he shall forget their faces in the next few steps he takes. Akutagawa asks him why he keeps fighting, to which Atsushi replies that he already knows the answer to his question. Akutagawa then asks why Atsushi is still bound to his mentor despite his death, but Atsushi tells him that he can still see the director looming near him constantly. Though it is not the answer he was expecting, Akutagawa uses Rashōmon and wraps it around Atsushi like bandages. He tells Atsushi that, if he does not succeed, he will not forgive him.