While volume 26 technically starts a “new” arc, this is the penultimate volume in a series filled with layered storylines going all the way back to the beginning. Don’t start here.
The entire volume is comprised of The Blade From Far Away (parts 1-6), which sees the remaining warriors employ a desperate gamble to oppose Pricilla’s near omnipotence. The plan is not without complications and cost.
The way in which Yagi has orchestrated these final conflicts and woven in a multitude of long running, diverse agendas and twists is masterful. Foreshadowing and clues that have been laid in little by little of the course of the series become illuminated in hindsight and add great depth to everything. And in a series with several shocking yet logical surprises, the end of this arc provides the greatest yet. I think my jaw’s still on the floor.
Derailments of Thought 