Episode 48

Jailbreak (脱獄記,) is the 48th episode of Bungo Stray Dogs anime series and the eleventh episode of the fourth season. It aired on March 15, 2023.

Synopsis
Atsushi and Kyōka convince Mushitarō to escape the vault with them. While escaping, the bank is surrounded by the Special Operations Division, led by Sakaguchi Ango, a member of the Seventh Agency.

Summary
In his confinement, Mushitarō writes a letter to his deceased friend Yokomizo, telling him about his life there. Suddenly, Kyōka comes bursting through the ceiling along with Atsushi. The latter says that they have come to rescue him to seek his help in proving that the Agency has been framed. Mushitarō initially refuses, as he does not want to share the information he has on the Decay of the Angel with the Agency, and he is also no longer interested in the outside world. However, Kyōka brings up the word "manuscript" as previously instructed by Ranpo as a sort of blackmailing tactic against Mushitarō, making him agree to the escape.

On the way out, Mushitarō tries to get the Agency members captured by nearby soldiers by making a scene for various petty reasons. Still, Kyōka always manages to keep him silent. Atsushi looks outside the window and notices Ango standing outside with the Skill Warfare Squad from the Special Division. Upon spotting Ango, Mushitarō panics and reveals that Ango is the head of the criminal group known as the Seventh Agency, which was created by the government. The said Agency is responsible for cover-ups of political crimes and illegal tactics. Mushitarō states that if Ango catches them, he will be imprisoned until he dies and that Kyōka and Atsushi will be made to disappear.

Mushitarō plans to get away confidently, slipping through camera footage using his ability. However, in the end, the three are nearly surrounded along their route when Atsushi notices Ango and his soldiers approaching them. Knowing the suspects' respective abilities, Ango instructs the troops to establish a perimeter to avoid the suspects from escaping.

Desperately thinking of a plan, Mushitarō recalls Yokomizo and his locked room stories — wherein criminals disappear like mist in a room with no exits — which Yokomizo believed to be such great mysteries. As a result, Mushitarō takes inspiration from Yokomizo's words and becomes determined to escape their pursuers in their situation.

The Special Division troops faintly spot Atsushi, Kyōka, and Mushitarō hiding in the vaults. They break it down with explosives, only to find that the suspects are not there. Ango is surprised by this and states that they have completely disappeared. In truth, Atsushi, Kyōka, and Mushitarō have escaped by using Demon Snow to shut the door to the neighboring room while they had left the door open to the room they had been in. By the time the troops had gone to investigate the room with Demon Snow, the group had escaped. Atsushi is impressed with Mushitarō's last-minute plan, though the latter reveals that his plan has been inspired and not an original idea of his.

As the three plan their subsequent escape down the sewer, Atsushi is hit with a tranquilizing dart from behind. A grenade also falls, which Kyōka manages to cut before it explodes, only to discover it was a decoy before also getting tranquilized. Ango reveals himself to the group, and Atsushi desperately tries to persuade him that the Agency has been framed. Ango reveals that his ability—which allows him to extract information from the things he touches—has shown him their plan that proves their criminal nature and holds them responsible for stabbing Taneda.

Ango mercilessly points his gun at Atsushi and shoots. However, it turns out that he has pushed Atsushi down the sewer. As Mushitarō and Kyōka also fall down the sewer, Ango gestures to Atsushi to keep his silence. The troops arrive at the scene, and Ango tells them the fugitives have gone west. Ango brings the trio to a car with the troops gone and drives them away.

There, he tells them that he has previously sent Dazai's message back at Fitzgerald's base that flashed on the screens to activate the sprinklers, being allies with Dazai all along. He also tells Atsushi that Dazai has a special way of communicating with him while confined at Meursault, manipulating his heart rate. Since Ango works for the government, he can access and decode such information. Mushitarō still does not trust Ango, considering him part of the Seventh Agency. Ango corrects him that it was merely a lie made up by Fyodor to keep them apart.

The group ends up in Anne's room, where Lucy aggressively asks Atsushi why he is a fugitive. Atsushi wonders why she is with Ango, who tells him that she had come to their headquarters rallying about Atsushi's innocence. Mushitarō realizes that Ango is working alone, though he asks Ango whether he has ever employed the Seventh Agency, the same organization that he worked for covering crimes and erasing evidence. Ango admits having employed them once to erase Dazai's past crimes as atonement for their mutual friend long gone.

Mushitarō eventually tells the group about the Decay of the Angel and their penultimate goal of erasing the state. Since there is still a blank side of the page they had used to frame the Agency, they can still write on the other page. Though Mushitarō does not know their final goal, he tells them about the Decay of the Angel's five members, including Fyodor, Nikolai, two more talented ability users, and their founder. He informs them that they shall write on the other side of the page at the next full moon in ten days. Though Ango is visibly distressed, Atsushi and Kyōka are hopeful with this revelation, knowing that they still have ten days to steal the page and write about the Agency's innocence once they defeat the Decay of the Angel.

Manga and Anime Differences

 * Atsushi originally expresses his belief after Mushitaro reveals that Ango leads the Seventh Agency. This was omitted.
 * Kyōka originally threatens Mushitaro after he's being too loud when the group is escaping from the bank.
 * In the manga, Atushi questions if it is Ango's ability that he was able to nearly locate them after using Mushitaro's ability to escape.
 * In the manga, Demon Snow originally opens the sewer cover for the group. In the anime, Atsushi uses his ability to open it.