"The Winged Fire Serpent? He can summon another Shikigami besides the first three!"
Generally, a Shikigami user's strength depends on the variety and number of Shikigami they can command simultaneously. Most Sorcerer Families considered it quite impressive to be able to summon two or three types of Shikigami. Even the Zenin Clan's Ten Shadows Technique could only summon ten types of Shikigami (Divine Dog, Nue, Great Serpent, Toad, Max Elephant, Rabbit Escape, Round Deer, Piercing Bull, Tiger Funeral, Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga, and Well's Unknown).
Yet, Seiya had already summoned four different, powerful Shikigami, making everyone present intensely curious about which Sorcerer Family's Innate Technique he had inherited.
"Nue—!"
Seeing the Winged Fire Serpent coiled around Panda's body, opening its maw to bite down on Panda's head, Fushiguro quickly made a hand sign, summoning his human-faced, bird-bodied Shikigami, Nue. The gigantic, owl-like Nue swooped down from the air, its sharp talons aiming directly for the Winged Fire Serpent.
An eagle is the natural enemy of a snake. However, when the descending Nue tried to pierce the Serpent's body, its talons merely sparked against the red scales, failing to penetrate. While Nue didn't manage to seize the Winged Fire Serpent, its attack did loosen the Serpent's grip on Panda.
Panda seized the opportunity, immediately releasing Seiya and instead using force to tear the Winged Fire Serpent off his body. The violently detached Serpent was furious, hissing and attempting to bite Panda again, only to be obstructed once more by the swooping Nue.
Seeing that Fushiguro's Nue seemed to be no match for the Winged Fire Serpent, Panda, who was gathering Cursed Energy in his hands to rush in and assist, suddenly heard Seiya's voice near his ear.
"Panda-senpai, you seem to have forgotten what I just said: your opponent isn't just one person. First, you only focused on me, and now you're only focused on my Shikigami. You're definitely going to get hit."
"Wenren Style Combat Technique: Empty Cicada!"
The moment he heard Seiya's voice, Panda sensed danger. However, it was already too late for him to react. Before he could turn or throw a punch, a vacuum punch struck him head-on, sending his massive body flying dozens of meters away. As he flew back, he collided with the Nue, who was grappling with the Winged Fire Serpent, and the two—bear and bird—crashed into the ground, leaving a large, deep crater.
The instant Seiya landed the punch, a blare of alarm bells went off in his mind, and he instinctively flashed away from his location. Almost simultaneously, the ground where he had just been standing was struck by a red, three-section staff, the Playful Cloud. The immense destructive power of the Special Grade Cursed Tool caused a huge, cracked crater to appear exactly where Seiya had been.
"Fushiguro, catch!"
Maki, whose attack missed, saw Seiya jump away from her attack and suddenly hurled the Special Grade Cursed Tool toward him. Seiya's pupils instantly constricted. Fushiguro Megumi had appeared behind him, seemingly from nowhere, and caught the hurled Playful Cloud, immediately swinging it at Seiya!
Truthfully, Fushiguro's skill with a Cursed Tool was definitely inferior to Maki's. But at such close range, even without sufficient mastery, a powerful swing was enough!
"Clang—!"
Facing Fushiguro, who was gripping the Playful Cloud and smashing it down at his head, Seiya had no choice but to use his arm to block the blow to avoid a direct headshot. However, pure flesh and blood against a Special Grade Cursed Tool, Seiya suffered the same consequence as before: a bone-jarring pain shot up his arm, and his body was instantly flung away.
"The match is over! Although it's a bit of an unfair win, just as you said, your opponent isn't just one person!"
Watching Seiya get blasted away by Fushiguro's strike, Maki pulled out a Cursed Tool Naginata from somewhere and rushed toward Seiya's projected landing spot at blazing speed.
"Tail-fire Tiger! Winged Fire Serpent!"
Seeing Maki charging with the Naginata, Seiya knew exactly what she intended, so he frantically recalled his summoned Shikigami to his side. However, just as the Tail-fire Tiger and the Winged Fire Serpent rushed toward Maki, Inumaki, who had been ignored until now, suddenly stepped in front of Maki. Facing the charging Shikigami, he calmly commanded: "Get Out!"
The Cursed Speech manifested as an invisible repelling force. Despite their massive bodies, the Tail-fire Tiger and Winged Fire Serpent struck an invisible wall before reaching Inumaki, and in the next instant, were violently thrown back dozens of meters by the immense repulsion force! Inumaki, having used his Cursed Speech, immediately clutched his mouth and slumped to the ground, having suffered a severe recoil.
"We anticipated you would use your Shikigami to block! So this time, it's really over!"
"Shiranui Style—!"
Ignoring the down-but-safe Inumaki, Maki tightened her grip on the Naginata, gathered all her strength, and unleashed her strongest strike!
"Wenren Sword Style, Form One—Ranga (Storm Fang)!"
Unlike the Playful Cloud, the Naginata in her hands was incredibly sharp, even if it wasn't a Special Grade Cursed Tool. Maki didn't deny Seiya's strength and martial skill, but under the force of her Shiranui Style attack, she was absolutely confident this strike would decisively defeat Seiya. Even with high martial skill, the airborne Seiya couldn't dodge, and his Shikigami shields had been taken out by Inumaki's Cursed Speech. Could Seiya possibly use his body to block her Naginata? This was a polearm, not the blunt three-section staff!
Maki could have easily aimed the Naginata at Seiya's head or heart, but since this was merely a sparring match, she aimed only for his shoulder. To her utter astonishment, the moment she swung her Naginata, Seiya, still airborne, condensed and compressed Cursed Energy into a Cursed Energy longsword, and with an expression of disbelief on her face, he met her Naginata with his own Cursed blade!
"Clang—!"
The Cursed Energy longsword and Maki's Cursed Tool Naginata clashed, pushing both opponents back. Seiya looked at the stunned Maki and gave a slight smirk. "Actually, I'm fairly competent in swordsmanship too."l?