Episode 16: Soul Rewrite
Kurose had engaged in battle with a mysterious S-Class Marei known as Konbaku.
The fight was evenly matched.
However, Konbaku retreated.
Afterward, Kurose reported everything to Kei and the others.
Hearing about it, Souma and the group felt an uneasy chill run down their spines.
---
That night, Souma was getting ready for bed.
He stood in the washroom, brushing his teeth.
Next to him, Kansuke was whining loudly.
“Man, I don’t wanna brush my teeth…”
“You have to! You’ll get cavities!” Tokaha snapped.
“Ugh… fine…”
As he brushed his teeth, Souma was deep in thought.
(…I don’t know why, but I have a really bad feeling.)
But there was no proof.
Souma tried to brush it off.
---
At that very moment, a limited express train bound for Ōita was departing.
“This train is now departing for Ōita.”
Inside the train, a group of rowdy men were causing trouble.
“Hey old man! Give up your seat!”
“Aren’t you embarrassed acting like that at your age?”
They laughed and mocked him.
“I-I have a pacemaker… my heart…”
“Who cares?! Move it!”
One of them kicked the man.
“Ugh…!”
The man clutched his chest in pain.
“Haha! What’s with this guy?”
“This is hilarious!”
---
Then, a presence appeared behind them.
“You boys…”
A tall woman with long purple hair had placed her hand on one of their shoulders.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“A girl? Wanna entertain us or something?”
She ignored them and smiled—cold, almost inhuman.
“Bullying the weak… that’s not very nice.”
“…Soul Alteration.”
The moment she spoke, the men vanished.
“…Huh?”
The man with the pacemaker froze.
He couldn’t understand what had just happened.
Two people… had disappeared instantly.
---
“Help… someone…”
Panic spread through the train.
“Shhh…”
The woman gently covered his mouth.
“I heard you earlier. You have a pacemaker, right?
With my power… I can fix your heart completely.
What do you think?”
She removed her hand.
“…Fix it? How?”
“My ability. It’s called Soul Alteration.
I can reshape souls.”
“…Do you want to be healed?”
It sounded too good to be true.
“…Alright… please… heal me…”
“Then kill everyone on this train.
That’s the condition.”
“…What?”
“It’s a vow.”
The man hesitated.
“…That’s… murder…”
“Or you can keep living with your weak heart.”
After a moment of silence—
“…Fine. I’ll do it.
Fix me first. Give me a weapon.”
“Of course.”
---
The passengers began to panic.
“We’ll arrive soon… better hurry.”
She placed her hand on his chest.
“…Soul Alteration.”
A strange force flowed through him.
“…It’s… healed…!”
“Good. Now kill them.”
She handed him a gun.
“D-don’t move!”
“Please stop!”
Screams filled the train.
---
She watched.
And then—
She laughed.
“…How amusing.”
But the man’s hands trembled.
“…I… I can’t…”
“Oh? Breaking the vow?”
“…Huh?”
His body suddenly collapsed—falling apart.
“…Ahh… how disappointing.”
“When you break a vow… your soul can no longer hold its form.”
She smiled.
“Only those who keep their promises deserve to be healed.”
---
“Next stop: Ōita.”
The announcement echoed.
“Guess I’ll just kill everyone myself.”
The screams…
were quickly silenced.
---
A man with glasses watched quietly.
“Fascinating…
Instantly healing a failing heart…
and slaughtering an entire train…”
“Konbaku’s ability is truly intriguing.”
---
The train arrived.
“Ōita. Ōita.”
The doors opened.
The moment people saw her—covered in blood—
Silence fell.
And then—
The platform turned red.
---
“Let’s go,” the man said.
“To Souma Amagi.”
“Of course.”
---
Days later—
Souma was asleep.
He found himself inside a train.
“Hey, Souma.”
“…Grandpa?!”
“Wake up. Go downstairs. Now.
Something bad is about to happen.”
---
Souma jolted awake.
“…It might just be a dream… but I can’t ignore it.”
He headed downstairs.
The darkness.
The memory of the red sky.
That suffocating feeling.
And then—
A sound.
Chewing.
---
“…Is someone there?”
No answer.
He opened the door.
The smell of blood hit him instantly.
And there she was—
Eating a human.
---
“Oh?
I tried to be quiet… how did you notice?”
“You’re quite perceptive…
But unlucky.”
---
Souma froze.
(This pressure… it’s on a completely different level…)
Purple hair.
A woman.
(It matches… Kurose’s description…!)
---
“…Who are you?”
“Oh? Your voice is shaking.”
“…What?”
“You’re afraid.
And angry.”
---
Souma drew his weapon.
His breath was ragged.
His hands trembled.
“Come at me…!”
“Oh?
So you’re Souma Amagi…
The prodigy who triggered Gourin twice.”
“Let’s see what you can do.”
---
(She knows my name…?!)
---
From the shadows, someone watched.
“…Souma Amagi.
I’m not particularly interested in him…
but I suppose I’ll watch.”
---
The man with glasses.
---
And so—
Their peaceful days began to collapse.
The world… once again…
turned red.
