Volume 14

Encounter (邂逅) is the fourteenth volume of The Promised Neverland series.

Synopsis
In order to save a dying family member, Emma leads a small group of children into a demon farm in order to steal some medicine. This risky mission will require smarts, stealth and a bit of luck. Meanwhile, a mysterious group of humans is destroying the farms one by one. What is their secret?

Plot
Volume fourteen of The Promised Neverland picks up with Chris needing medicine otherwise his chance of survival is low. They plan to break into a nearby farm with Anna, Ray, and Hayato to get the medicine. Hayato leads the way since he broke into that farm before. Due to the escapees, demon patrols in that farm were increased and they are found out as a result. Hayato and Ray lure the demons away while Emma and Anna find and retrieve the medicine. Right when they are about the leave, they are ambushed by demons but saved by an associate of Mr. Minerva named Zazie. Once Chris is healed, they regroup and start heading to the secret base inside of a forest of giant trees. The base is discovered to be inside one of those trees and it’s a massive city! It used to be a demon base but, apparently, it was a secret location that not even the Ratri clan or other demons know about. What’s more importantly… the boss… aka William Minerva is in this base.

Minerva meets up with everyone and explains their plan. They talk about an experimental farm named Lambda which gives us some backstory on a couple of characters we are already familiar with. Minerva said that the Lambda base was already destroyed by them. Minerva led Emma and the others here for his plan… to destroy all of the demons in this world and erase the Neverland where children can’t become adults. Something seems off about this plan and Minerva himself and Emma picked up on it… especially since she wants to save the demons, too. She thought of Mujika and Sonju and how those demons saved them. Because of that, Emma wants to find another way.

Cover and Volume Illustration
The cover shows the current "William Minerva" reaching his hands out towards the readers, with his iconic owl flying towards the readers whilst blocking its face.

Chapters

 * 116. Infiltrating the Cage, Part 1 (檻への侵入①)
 * 117. Infiltrating the Cage, Part 2 (檻への侵入②)
 * 118. Meeting (対面)
 * 119. Encounter (邂逅)
 * 120. Monsters Without Shape (形のない怪物)
 * 121. Isn't This Great (よかったね)
 * 122. True Feelings (本心)
 * 123. An Important Choice (大事な選択)
 * 124. Tell Us (聞かせろよ)

Author Notes
Mr. Minerva! He's finally here!

Ever since the bookplates in the library showed up, I've had many people ask me, "What kind of person is Mr. Minerva?" And every time I evaded the question, I was looking forward to this day.

Isn't it nice to have something to look forward to?!

What I'm currently looking forward to is the second season of the anime in 2020! And what I'm going to eat tomorrow.

Next is volume 15! Please look forward to it!

Writer Shirai's personal highlights for The Promised Neverland fanatics, part 10!

1. Chris's name (Kurisu) and the Japanese word for medicine (kusuri) being similar was a coincidence. (I realized it later.)

2. Zazie is actually five years old.

3. Highlight #3 in volume 13 might make more sense after you read chapter 120 in this volume.

About the splash page for chapter 118... The remaining pages in their scripts represent their remaining life spans. Only Ray is holding two, but it's not clear which one is the script. Isn't that crazy? I love it!!

Please enjoy this volume!