Next chapter will be an interlude while Kamejiro prepares for volume 2. So expect ch11 and the conclusion to this flashback in November.
I found this chapter particularly well constructed. The whole manga is—as you might expect of a retold story—but 10 is noteworthy in its escalation.
Since we've already seen the foot of the spirit tree in chapter 5, there's no need to make it a tranquil spectacle now. It can serve as a dedicated action setpiece. Sara anxiously races her way up it, beating increasingly painful setbacks in the manga's longest action scene so far, which makes the reprieve even more welcome. And you're almost distracted from the fact this is the story of how Sara got the sword, as the blooming spirit tree begins a countdown to the real action.
Last chapter already speculated the uniqueness of blood from Children of Spirits. The start of 10 introduces two ideas: butterflies being attracted to the blood and the possibility of using blood to imitate a CoS yourself. The latter obviously plays off with the proposal to drink Natalia's blood—now needing no explanation to not sound insane in the already chaotic climax. But the former comes back subconsciously when you see butterflies clouding around Natalia like flies. Which, instead of naturally macabre, comes off as ethereal and surreal, downplaying the violence.
That surreality is pivotal for the transition from lighthearted action to a brutal life-or-death scenario, bridging the gap so it doesn't feel quite so disorientingly shocking. The oddity of a casually talking butterfly breaks the trauma of Sara liquefying. The cute SFX (which are not just me translating it that way; they're all in the raws) only take the slightest break for sharp contrast. It peaks with this dark comedy: Luis cheering Sara on as she licks the blood from his sister's cratered face.
We know this is all a flashback, so the tension is subdued, more dreamlike. It can flirt with brutality without dissonance.
There's an ongoing escalation in the uncomfortable moments the manga has put them through; from Natalia eating the ant-ridden cookies in ch2, to the post-puke kiss in ch7, to the blood drinking in ch10. The bar keeps rising. I'll warn again, the original went to some dark places beyond this, and it seems all-but-guaranteed this version will do the same. I used to worry how that would reconcile with the lighter, sillier atmosphere but it seems like that was needless.
Some other minor points, like the nod to the woods' shortcut or the harmony in Sara saying she can't cast her convictions away as she throws the fake sword aside, don't add much but they're satisfying. Or how there's no need to explain what happened to Natalia either, given all the times she's fainted and bonked into trees. And the skeletons on the path at the beginning do put a dark shade on things from the start.
I also think you should make a note of Sara condemning Natalia's obligations to her family rather than to her people. It's a bit of projection on her part and a hint at her past. That first page is definitely not the whole of her backstory.
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