Summary:
An aspiring mangaka, Charles Bernard, has fallen into despair as his reality has been overtaken by the Culling Game. He now wishes to draw Kinji Hakari’s blood as well as the manga. To prevent Charles from looking for selfish reasons to interrogate, Hakari tries to break his spirit completely.
Plot:
Ready to fight Hakari over his rude remarks, Charles conjures a cursed tool called the G Warstaff, a pen-shaped spear linked to his innate technique. Charles’ attack breaks through their Ferris wheel module and pushes Hakari out to the top of the attraction where the attack continues. Charles jabbed Hakarima in the head several times while quoting a “poem” from a creator he admires. Hakari dodges the blows and jumps from the Ferris wheel to the building below, followed by Charles. He is upset because Charles is actually quoting the creator’s comment from Katsuro Hoshino, which Hakari doesn’t consider a poem.
Charles goes on to explain that the mangaka enters a fictional space in their minds where anything is possible because reality does not satisfy them. Charles believes that his reality has been overcome by jujutsu and as a result has lost motivation as both a manga reader and a creator. He asks Hakari what the feeling is called, and the High Jujutsu student replies boredly. As his fighting spirit rises, Charles suggests that the feeling is actually called despair.
Fueled by his grief, Charles slams his G Warstaff hard and scratches Hakari’s cheek, drawing some blood onto the tip of the pen. Hakari questions if it’s okay for a mangaka to use his drawing pen for violence, but Charles argues with a reference from Captain Tsubasa. Blood fills the pen state for Charles’ cursed technique and marks Hakari with a glowing square. Hakari questions the square as he throws a flying kick, but Charles manages to dodge it and immediately counters, surprising the former. Hakari is knocked off the building but keeps his balance as he is knocked back several meters from the impact. Hakari analyzes the way Charles moved and quickly realizes that it must be more than just a reflex.
Taunting Hakari for finally taking his hands out of his pockets, Charles explains that the glowing square is actually a manga panel that allows the user to see the opponent’s next move. Currently, Charles can only see one second ahead, but as the tip of the pen fills with more of Hakari’s blood, the former will be able to see further into the future. Hakari lunges straight at Charles to assert the ability, nearly landing a powerful right hook that the latter admits would have knocked him out if not for Warstaff’s G effect. Charles counters and hits Hakari over the head with the blunt end of his spear, confirming to him that Charles does indeed see the future.
However, Hakari is not impressed and immediately disappears from Charles’ sight. He punches Charles in the back and states that his opponent still needs confirmation with his eyes to see the future. To counter, Hakari repeatedly attacks Charles from blind spots without letting up, and he notices Hakari’s harsh cursed energy. Charles tries to adjust by targeting his own blind spot, but Hakari anticipates this and grabs the weapon before striking again. Before Charles can turn around and recover, Hakari attacks him and reveals that it can’t be easy, knowing that a desperate mangaka would only selfishly attack someone else. Believing that he will have to break Charles completely, Hakari hits him with another powerful punch. When Hakari gets behind him again and Charles is able to recover and hit the blind spot, which slightly cuts Hakari’s forehead.
An angry Charles claims that the vessel containing his heart is broken and is now only capable of spilling out in a flood of emotions. He adds that he can see two seconds into Hakari’s future and will wait in his blind spot. Confused as to why Hakari wasn’t scared, Charles asks his opponent why he is posing in this situation. Hakari uses both hands to form the correct hand sign to cast his domain extension, Idle Death Gamble. With the guaranteed effect of his domain, his rules are instantly transferred to Charles’ brain.