WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Volume 17 of The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shiri, Posuka Demizu, Satsuki Yamashita and Mark McMurray, available now in print from Viz Media.
Volume 16 of The Promised Neverland was filled with revelations about the "Promise" which established the current relationship between the human and demon worlds for the past 1000 years and featured Emma making a new Promise in hopes of creating a new peace.
In Volume 17, however, war is still raging, with Norman's group taking on the Royal Family and attempting to kill all demons once and for all.
Emma Returns
Chapter 144, the first chapter in Volume 16, shows Emma returning from the Seven Gates after making the Promise. Unfortunately, Gilda has realized this return is not quite as triumphant as previously thought.
Norman has previously talked about how Emma's return could possibly bring peace, but after Norman sent Hayato and Jin to try assassinating the good demons Mujika and Sonju, it became clear he was a liar intent on genocide no matter what. Both Gilda's group and Emma's group heads off to the Imperial Capital to try to stop Norman. The Goldy Pond Resistance fighters provide horses to speed up travel.
War in the Capital
On 10 November 2047, The Day of the Tifari, Norman begins his attack on the Capital. Though he struggles emotionally with betraying Emma's trust, he's too driven not to go through with his plan, so he denotes a bomb in the city.
When Emma's group and Gilda's group make it into the city in hopes of reaching Norman, it's too late. Ray discovers Norman is also formulating poison to kill more demons. Mujika and Sonju must leave the city for their own safety, but give Emma a transmitter in case she needs their help.
Geelan's Revenge
It's not only humans fighting against the demon royal family. Geelan and his demon clan are out for personal revenge. Chapters 147 and 149 detail Geelan's tragic backstory. 700 years ago, he was a noble, but the other nobles did not look well upon how he advocated for the lower classes in times of famine and framed him for treason.
Without access to quality meat over the past seven centuries, he was forced to eat his own subjects, growing more bestial and dead-set on revenge. Norman, of course, doesn't respect Geelan any more than he does the Queen, so he plans on killing whoever loses their battle. Geelan's army is ultimately completely decimated by the Queen in an intensely bloody battle.
Killing the Queen
While Geelan's clan couldn't kill the Queen, the battle weakened her to the point Norman's army can finally take her down for good. Zazie makes the first attack against her, then Barbara and Cislo join in. The strategy to defeat the Queen requires nonstop relentless attacks.
Meanwhile, Norman's poison is causing the other demons in the city to degenerate as a means of confusion and distraction. Emma and Ray make it into the castle to try to stop Norman, but they're too late -- Zazie has already sliced the Queen's head in half, and the entire royal family has been slaughtered. Norman won.
The Promised Neverland Volume 17 is now on sale from Viz Media.
