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Maki frowned, feeling frustration rise inside her.
Toge murmured slowly:
"…Grilled salmon."
The word, heavy with gravity, sent a shiver down Maki's spine. She tightened her grip on her naginata's handle and scanned the surroundings carefully.
A metallic noise echoed behind them. Toge spun instantly. A thin figure, almost human but grotesquely twisted, appeared at the corner of the alley they had just crossed. Its limbs bent at impossible angles, and its face was a featureless mask, as if sculpted from black clay.
Maki raised her weapon.
"Is that what's controlling the circle?" she whispered.
The creature didn't answer. It simply stared at them in silence. Then, slowly, it lifted a bony hand, pointing straight at them.
Toge tilted his head slightly and said calmly:
"Vibrations."
The ground shook as a tearing sound wave erupted from him, surging toward the creature. But instead of being blown back or harmed like the other curses, it absorbed the attack. A wave of black energy rebounded against them, hurling Maki and Toge backward.
They quickly got back to their feet, brushing off dust. Maki shot the creature an annoyed look.
"Toge, no more testing. We destroy it now."
She charged forward. The creature lunged to meet her, its claws carving grooves into the cobblestone. The collision of their strikes unleashed a shockwave that split the walls around them.
Toge rose and positioned himself behind Maki, ready to support her assault.
Beyond the square, figures gathered in the dark alleys. More curses were converging on their position, drawn by the circle's power.
Maki gritted her teeth, narrowly dodging a vicious swipe from the creature. She drove her blade into its torso, but instead of collapsing, the beast twisted and reformed around the wound, spitting the metal out of its body as if it were nothing more than a splinter.
Toge seized the chance.
"Crush," he pronounced, his voice rumbling across the square.
The ground cracked, blocks of stone rising to smash into the creature from all sides. This time, it was knocked back, crashing against the statue.
"Not strong enough, huh?" Maki panted.
The creature stirred again, ready to fight.
Then a scream echoed from the street in the distance.
It was from Yuta's side.
---
A searing pain tore through Yuta's body as the invisible blade struck him. He screamed with all his strength, collapsing to his knees as his left arm dangled uselessly at his side, severed at the shoulder. Blood poured freely, staining his uniform and the ground.
"YUTA!" Panda roared, trying to rush to his side.
But before he could move, massive shadows burst from the surrounding alleys, swarming him. Panda shoved several creatures back violently, but their numbers kept growing. They crashed onto him like an unstoppable wave.
Yuta, teeth clenched, tried to stem the unbearable pain by pressing his wrist against the gaping wound. His vision blurred, and each breath felt like a battle.
Suddenly, a strange energy emanated from his ring. A bright light flared, and a curse materialized before him. It let out a guttural cry, then turned to Yuta with eyes filled with both rage and sorrow.
"Don't… cry…" Yuta whispered.
The curse gave a long, mournful wail. Its movements brimmed with desperate anger, but instead of attacking, it crouched beside Yuta, pressing what seemed to be shapeless hands against his bleeding chest.
Then, an unusual sound rang out. Clap, clap, clap, echoing above the chaos.
Applause.
A smooth voice, laced with irony, rose into the half-collapsed street.
"Impressive. Very impressive. I must say, kid, you're rather lucky. That blade should have taken you out instantly."
Every gaze, even Panda's despite his fierce battle, turned toward the source of the voice. Two curses emerged from the shadows—one in the form of a massive serpent, the other a humanoid figure bristling with sharp spikes.
And between them, Geto appeared, dressed in his long black robe, wearing a smile. He walked forward slowly.
A cold shiver ran down Panda's spine. His instincts screamed that they were facing something far beyond their usual level. The man's smile only deepened the suffocating sense of oppression.
As Geto opened his mouth to speak again, the curse beside Yuta charged at him. But the massive serpent interposed itself, opening a titanic maw to swallow it whole.
Yuta's curse—Rika—did not retreat. With terrifying agility for her size, she twisted mid-stride and drove her claws into the serpent's scaly flank. The creature hissed in pain, its massive coils slamming against nearby buildings, which crumbled like toys. Rika ripped out a chunk of flesh, hurling it to the ground in a spray of black mist, then roared again.
Meanwhile, Panda fought desperately for survival. The hordes of lesser creatures multiplied endlessly. His left paw sent one flying into a wall, while his right slammed another into the ground. His breath grew shorter and shorter, but his eyes stayed on Yuta, still kneeling.
Geto remained still, his expression calm. As Rika tore into the serpent, he clapped slowly, drawing the duo's attention.
"Magnificent, truly. An impressive display, Queen of Curses. You certainly deserve the title."
Rika didn't seem to hear. With a prodigious leap, she launched herself at Geto to tear him apart. But the other humanoid curse, bristling with spikes, blocked her path. With a brutal motion, it unleashed a storm of bladed winds.
CLANG.
Rika spun acrobatically in midair, deflecting the projectiles with a sweep of her claws. She landed with an impact that cracked the ground, then pounced on her foe. She seized the creature by the neck and slammed it violently into the wounded serpent, the two monsters crashing together in a deafening roar.
Geto, still composed, raised his hands slightly. "Now, now, let's not be so rude. I only wanted to talk. Yuta, wasn't it?"
---
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