Chapter 168

Stepping into a trap, Megumi faces an assortment of cursed techniques wielded by Reggie Star and his fellow sorcerers. He soaks up a brutal amount of damage, then catches a second wind once Kogane reports that a particular new rule has joined the Culling Game.

A detached eye floats down beside the open balcony where Megumi stands, then explodes; the blast came from another of Reggie's allies, the player Iori Hazenoki. Cautioned by Reggie over the friendly fire, the freshly one-eyed sorcerer cracks off a few of his teeth while asking whether the target is dead. Megumi clears the smoke and instantly dodges Remi, who lashes out with her scorpion-stinger hair; he counters and slams her down, demanding to know if she has had enough. Hazenoki swings in from the floor above and flings his teeth at Megumi like darts, while Reggie throws receipts that turn to gas and douse Megumi. Once the gasoline meets Hazenoki's detonations, the resulting blast tears the top of the building apart.

Reggie steps out of the room he hid in and asks if it is over, though Hazenoki had spotted Megumi slip into a separate room to ride out the blast. Reggie grants Megumi's tenacity yet figures he is worn down. Shoving aside a fallen door, Megumi warns Remi that no one in Reggie's group will ever protect her, since the blasts could have killed her as collateral, proving her disposable. As he tries to leave her, Remi drives her hair into his back from behind, begging him to say he likes her and will protect her; disgusted, Megumi sees she values words over deeds. Chizuru Hari, thrown off the building earlier, climbs back into the fight, praising Megumi for besting him before but noting his rough state, and grumbling about the long climb, to which Megumi taunts him for skipping the stairs. Aware four-on-one is a steep disadvantage, Megumi is set on taking their points regardless.

Kogane then announces a new rule has entered the Culling Game: under Rule Ten, one player may now pass points over to another. Reinvigorated, Megumi grins and rushes Hari while he is distracted, summons Max Elephant to force him out of the building, and uses Nue to pin him in midair before driving the hilt of his sword into Hari's face. Hari hits the ground badly hurt, cursing Megumi, who slashes his face open and eliminates him. For a beat Megumi second-guesses spending points they will later need, then steadies himself by recalling Tsumiki will not have to join the killing now, resolving to trust his comrades rather than chase every opponent's points, and Kogane awards him five points. As Reggie and Hazenoki drop to ground level near an opponent wielding umbrellas, Reggie is embarrassed Hari never even showed his cursed technique. Megumi notes Remi is gone but he is still outnumbered and feeling the first blast; he cannot flee, and Domain Expansion is off the table since it remains incomplete. Hazenoki spits one of his detached teeth toward Megumi as yet another bomb, only for a stranger to dive between Megumi and the explosion and shield him. That newcomer, Fumihiko Takaba, calls two-on-one unfair and brands Reggie and Hazenoki cowards, claiming their attacks did zero damage even as the blood on his face and head shows otherwise, confusing Megumi.

Logged as installment 168 in the Gege Akutami manga, this entry runs twenty-three pages, twenty-two in the Volume 19 printing, within the Culling Game Arc and adapts as anime Episode 57. It introduces Iori Hazenoki, debuts Reggie Star's Contractual Re-Creation technique, and brings Fumihiko Takaba into the brawl at its close.