Episode 22: “Falling Beyond the Boundary”
Souma collapsed in the gym.
Touka transformed into a monster.
The monstrous Touka clashed violently with Tamashibari.
Then Kei and Shikanosuke returned—
only to realize the truth.
The one who killed Kei’s lover, Momoka…
was none other than the monstrous Touka.
Purple armor. Poison.
Every single detail Momoka left behind—
matched perfectly.
“…I won’t forgive you.”
Kei faced Touka.
Shikanosuke tried to stop him,
but a blue flash of Gōrin from Yakushiin struck him—
and he could no longer move.
Before he knew it, he was already against the wall, gritting his teeth.
Meanwhile, Kei was overwhelmed.
He had no talent.
That’s why he had spent eleven years struggling.
And yet… this ending?
“…This can’t be it!”
He screamed.
Tamashibari, however, intervened—
and healed Kei completely.
Through her power, Kei grew stronger—
but it still wasn’t enough.
Even with her help, he couldn’t win.
He couldn’t even manifest Gōrin.
That reality crushed him.
And then—
someone appeared.
A mysterious man with glasses.
Yakushiin.
He held out an object.
An S-class cursed item—
“The Thirteen Soul Mochi.”
“If you eat it, you’ll become stronger.”
…But instinct screamed:
“Don’t touch it.”
Kei hesitated.
But Touka was already closing in.
No time left.
Then—
“…Kei. Destroy everything.”
Momoka’s voice echoed in his ears.
“…Got it.”
He swallowed it.
---
The moment it passed his throat—
Voices.
Thirteen voices flooded his mind at once.
“AAAAAAAAAAAA—!!”
His sanity shattered.
But among them, one voice rang louder than the rest.
“…Tch. What a shitty awakening.”
Kei raised his sword.
Something about him—
was no longer human.
“…That’s not Kei.”
Souma knew.
---
Touka attacked.
A violent metallic clash echoed—
sparks exploded.
Kei slowly drew his blade.
And the moment it left the sheath—
A thunderous slash tore through the air.
Touka’s right ear—
and four fingers—
were severed instantly.
Impossible.
Even though the blade was broken—
it cut like perfection itself.
Touka tried to retrieve the pieces.
But Kei chased her down.
His next strike tore deeply across her back—
even slicing through a nearby pillar.
The gym creaked violently.
Yet only one pillar fell—
his precision prevented collapse.
“…That personality is insane. Who is he?”
Tamashibari asked.
Yakushiin answered:
“Nanougi Motai.
The strongest swordsman of the Edo era.”
“No techniques. No Gō.
Just pure killing intent—
and a blade that cuts everything.”
“Interesting… I like that.”
---
Touka’s wounds stitched themselves shut.
“GRAAAAH!”
She roared and turned.
Her attacks rained down—
But Nanougi sliced even her blade apart.
“…He cut the sword…?”
Tamashibari laughed.
“Fascinating.”
Nanougi struck again—
slashing through Touka’s right eye.
It wouldn’t regenerate.
Even her stitching couldn’t restore it.
That was the cost.
Yet—
Nanougi overextended.
“KYAAAA!”
Touka countered.
Their blades clashed.
A crack formed in his sword.
Still—
he remained unharmed.
Nanougi forced the blades apart
and thrust toward her throat.
Touka blocked it with her arm.
The blade pierced through—
stopping just short of her neck.
Then—
Nanougi kicked.
An explosion-like impact sent Touka flying.
She coughed blood.
---
He moved to finish her.
But—
Something changed.
The air trembled.
Her Gō surged.
“…So she learned it.”
Yakushiin smiled.
“Learned what?”
“Watch.”
Nanougi closed the distance instantly—
trying to finish it.
He severed her arm.
“…Too late.”
He saw it.
A mark.
Engraved on her abdomen.
“…Tch.”
---
Then—
Voices echoed from outside.
“…Sota? Where are you?”
“What’s that noise…? Call the police…”
The gym doors opened.
“Excuse me—
could you keep it down?”
“Our child is missing.
You didn’t let him die, did you?”
They were the parents
of the child killed by Tamashibari.
Their arrival—
triggered tragedy.
“Don’t come closer!”
“Please, stay back!”
---
“Domain…
Banpō Shisō.”
Silence fell.
Blood stretched like threads through the air.
Space itself split—
stitched together.
Darkness seeped from the seams.
Everyone—
was dragged into it.
---
Touka attacked everything.
Souma.
Shikanosuke.
Nanougi.
Yakushiin.
Tamashibari.
Everyone was trapped.
---
“This… is a Domain.”
Yakushiin explained.
“A guaranteed-hit world.”
---
Souma screamed.
His trauma returned.
That night—
his family—
his eye—
“AAAAAGH!”
He vomited blood.
---
Shikanosuke remained unaffected.
“No unnecessary memories.
That’s why it doesn’t work on him.”
Yakushiin observed.
Tamashibari?
No effect.
---
A man screamed.
Then laughed.
He had broken.
“HAHAHAHAHA!”
A mind destroyed.
---
“…I couldn’t protect him…”
Shikanosuke collapsed emotionally.
---
One more—
was unaffected.
Nanougi.
“No Gō… means no effect.”
---
Nanougi struck.
Relentless.
Too fast.
Touka couldn’t keep up.
---
The Domain ended.
---
Nanougi drove his blade into her chest.
She coughed blood.
Her monster form collapsed.
She returned—
to herself.
---
Nanougi became Kei again.
---
“…Touka?”
“…Kei… I’m sorry…”
She died.
---
“…No… NO…!!”
Kei broke.
---
Then—
Yakushiin stepped forward.
“…You’re not dying yet.”
Touka’s heart—
moved again.
“…You’ll save her!?”
“No.
She’ll become my piece.”
---
Her body—
collapsed into a purple sphere.
Her heart—
still faintly beating inside.
---
“Give her back!!”
Kei attacked.
Useless.
---
“…I’ll take this power.”
“STOP—!!”
---
Yakushiin swallowed it.
---
He smiled.
Quietly.
Sickeningly.
---
That power—
would drag them all into hell.
