ハヤテのごとく！/Hayate no Gotoku Manga
Hayate the Combat Butler Chapter 546 Review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Hisui greets Hayate and Ah-tan, knowing they are after the King’s Jewel that Yozora took from Machina. Yozora confirms that Ah-tan is actually Athena, who should be 17 or 18. Yozora explains Athena used the Royal Power to heal her deadly illness. However, she then touched a King’s Jewel, causing her to revert to her state from before using the power. Yozora understands how powerful Athena is in her true form.

When Hisui hears that Athena can be restored by destroying the King’s Jewel, she does just that, shocking everyone. Hisui orders the stunned Yozora not to move, then spins to observe Ah-tan transform into Athena. Hisui goes into hysterical laughter, having confirmed that the Royal Power is true. Yozora is worried by this turn of events, but Hisui understands that Hayate has a King’s Jewel with him.

With an insane look, Hisui launches an attack on Hayate with a sword. Hayate manages to miss the first attack, causing him to realize how serious Hisui is.

Thoughts/Review:

Heh! Events certainly escalated quickly in this chapter, which is what made it good.

Hisui

The one amazing part of Hayate the Combat Butler chapter 546 is just how insane Hisui is. I’m not sure why she’s so desperate to get the Royal Power. However, I have a feeling that whatever caused her to go off the deep end is driving her to seek that Royal Power. Hisui has a sister, supposedly. Remember Jenny? I wonder if that’s the root of why Hisui has gone nuts.

Regardless, as an insane person, Hisui is massively unpredictable. I figure Hisui is pretty skilled with the sword. Combine the two elements and she may well give Hayate a run for his money.

I do find it interesting that Hisui never really believed in the Royal Power until she saw it with her own eyes.

Athena

The other amazing element that happened in Hayate the Combat Butler chapter 546 is that Athena was restored to normal. I had expected that she would return to normal after a protracted fight. However, Hisui’s insanity in destroying the King’s Jewel caused that to happen immediately, which I didn’t expect. Now, Athena can get into the fight, howbeit without clothing that fits her.

We finally got to learn why Athena used the Royal Power. Apparently she had a terminal illness and that power allowed her to recover. I’m more murky on what it was that Athena was doing to protect her family. The chapter implies that she was head of her family as a child. But I’m really not clear on things.

It is interesting that Yozora considers Athena to be the greatest threat they face. I assume she’s including Isumi in this mix. I’m wondering if Athena might be even more powerful than we’ve seen so far.

I don’t think I asked this before, but why didn’t Mikado tell Athena sooner how to restore herself? What was his game plan there? Was it because he didn’t want her to have an advantage over him in gaining the Royal Power?

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

In a weird sort of way, I was amused that Yozora’s purpose in this chapter wasn’t to fight. Instead, she provided all of the exposition. Hisui stopped her from going after Athena while Athena was still vulnerable. That said, I can’t imagine Yozora staying on the sidelines for long.

In the end, Hayate the Combat Butler chapter 546 made a massive push forward in plot elements. As such, it is a very good chapter.