Summary:
After the climactic battles in Sendai Colony, Yuta decides to spare Ryu and Uro. He believes he is too naive, but Yuta is able to score their points thanks to the newest rule. Meanwhile, in Tokyo Colony No. 2, Kinji Hakari meets an aspiring mangaka.
Plot:
After the battle at Sendai Colony ends, Yuta talks to the defeated Uro to get his points. She tells Yuto that his power has its limits and she has seen with her own eyes the power beyond the horizon of powerful warriors among wizards and curses. He imagines Sukun’s original form and claims that such power takes the form of overwhelming aggression that regards nothing but calamity.
Yuta walks over to Ryu, who tells him that he is too soft and that he will not be praised for his actions. Yuta replies that Uro told him something similar, that there is no point in sparing the opponent’s life. Ryu is surprised to learn that Uro survived and believes that his blasts must have weakened after using the domain extension. Ryu sits down and asks what Uro kept getting upset about during the fight and asks if it was a lover’s quarrel. Yuta says it’s something like that and Ryu tells him to stop acting like it’s annoying. Yuta explains that anything he could tell her would lead to violence because he is blessed. Ryu doesn’t really understand what Yuta meant, but still respects his words.
After a short break, Yuta decides to return to his mission and asks Ryu to hand over his points. Ryu is confused at first, but his Kogane explains that a new rule has been added to the game that allows players to transfer points between themselves. Ryu believes he understands why Yuta spared their lives now and asks if he would have killed them without that rule. Yuta hints that it was a possibility, but he smiles and tells Ryu to be grateful to his friend. Thanks to the point transfers from Uro and Ryu over the points he got for taking out Dhruv and Kurourushi, Yuta now has 190 points.
Sometime before the Culling Game, a young man with blue hair and blue eyes named Charles Bernard filled out a visitor’s registration at Tokyo’s Shueisha Publishing House. Two of the staff noticed this and discussed whether he had brought a mango. They also commented on how unusual it is for a foreigner to do this.
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Charles Bernard met with a Shueisha employee to review his manga submission. While improperly seated on the table, Charles commented that he always wondered what a manga creator did. They don’t need licenses, and in Charles’ opinion, experience doesn’t necessarily validate the creation either. The employee was looking at Charles’s manga and almost didn’t listen to his words, wishing he would just sit on the chair. He merely remarked that the stranger’s Japanese was quite good, but Charles responded by repeating the same sentiment, confusing the man. The employee stated that this was apparently because he is Japanese and Charles revealed that he was born and raised in Japan, although his parents are French. The employee apologized for this, and Charles refused, believing it would be the start of a long relationship between him and the publishing studio.
A Shueisha staffer is mostly unimpressed with Charles’ rendition of the manga, criticizing the story, genre, tone, and especially the artwork. He used one example of one panel where the character’s finger is bent too far in one direction. The employee tries to show Charles how to stick out his own finger, but Charles immediately breaks it to match the manga art. Charles exasperatedly told the man to watch movies or stare at photos if he wanted realistic artwork. He believed that publishing should appreciate passion that could not be replicated in precise works of art. Charles finishes his tirade after assaulting the staff and storms out of the building, deeming the whole experience a waste of time.
It is currently 12:11 November 12th. currently. Charles is on the ferry with Kinji Hakari and asks him if he knows exactly what makes someone a manga creator. Annoyed, Hakari replies that he doesn’t know. Charles is grateful that there is still electricity in the area, but Hakari does not, and suggests that he would not normally ride a Ferris wheel with a man. Charles points out that he could have refused, but Hakari wants to explore the area in case he brings the girl back one day. Charles is surprised that Hakari believes that Tokyo will recover from the trash game and claims that he is the opposite, as someone who just came to see the end of it all.
Ever since Tokyo was flooded with curses, there are no outlets for manga, and creators Charles respected are giving up. Charles asks Hakari to give him a reason to fight, as heroes in fighting manga always fight for positive reasons, while the Culling game only encourages fights for negative ones. Charles asks Hakari to provoke him enough to make him hate to the point of killing. Hakari decides to comply and thoroughly insults Charles. He says that he would never read Charles’s creepy manga because his dark nature might infect him. He also tells Charles to stop whining and start fighting, garnering an emotional response. With tears in his eyes, Charles questions why Hakari would say such mean things.