Steel of the Celestial Shadows; Vol. 7

A down-and-out samurai who can't even hold a sword enters a strange world of magic searching for honor and redemption.

A down-and-out samurai named Ryudo Konosuke struggles through his hardscrabble life in early 19th-century Japan. It is said that a samurai's spirit rests in their swordand Konosuke can't even pick one up thanks to a cruel curse that repels anything made of metal that gets near him. Destitute and hopeless, he decides to end it all. But when a beautiful and mysterious woman saves his life and his soul, it is the beginning of Konosuke's journey into a strange world of magic that exists a step away from his own.

Konosuke and his companions have caught up to Dosuke near the site of one of the Sessho-seki that Tsuki has just unsealed. In the presence of its evil miasma, gifts increase in power. Konosuke will need the boost, since taking down Dosuke and his sister, Katsu, will be no easy task. Katsu herself is possessed by a similar ancient and demonic entity as Haretake. To defeat it, Konosuke must wield his gift, now manifested as the icon of that which he has always sought to hold...a katana!