BOOM!
Three kilometers from Komaoh Academy, the wall of an old building exploded, sending debris flying.
Pedestrians on the street screamed and scattered.
A black shadow shot out from the blast, hurtling backward.
CRASH!
Yuta Okkotsu's body slammed into a moving car like a cannonball. The metal roof crumpled instantly, and the windshield shattered.
"Cough!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth, staining his collar.
Yuta sprang up, dropping to one knee. Behind him, the special-grade cursed spirit Rika wailed, "Yuta, are you okay?!"
Yuta shook his head, flashing a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Rika. That guy in there… can you handle him?"
"I can! Anyone who hurts Yuta is unforgivable!" Rika roared, ready to charge into the gaping hole in the wall.
But Yuta stopped her. "Hold on, Rika."
His eyes locked onto the hole. Sunlight streamed through, dust swirling in the beam, but the enemy didn't follow.
"What's going on…?"
Screams from onlookers filled the air. Some pulled out phones to record, while others fled. Yuta wiped the blood from his mouth, his mind flashing back to three minutes earlier:
He was still on the comms with Maki when a man in a top hat appeared at the end of the corridor.
The tails of his tuxedo swayed with each step, his cane tapping the floor like a countdown to death.
"Jujutsu sorcerer?" the man asked in a refined, old-fashioned tone. "Why are you here?"
Before Yuta could answer, the cane thrust toward his face.
Clang!
Yuta drew his katana just in time to block, but a massive surge of energy erupted from the cane's tip, blasting him backward.
Rika lunged, her giant claws swinging, but the man caught them effortlessly. The special-grade cursed spirit's power did nothing to him. Instead, black wings sprouted from his back, knocking Rika away.
Yuta traded blows with the man for less than three minutes. During one block, the man's black wings unfurled, and a purple magic circle appeared in his outstretched hands.
A massive fireball roared from the circle, blasting Yuta through the wall.
"Fallen angel…?" Yuta muttered, reaching for his waist, only to find torn fabric. His phone and comms were gone, lost in the explosion.
"Damn it…"
He looked up at the broken wall. Through the dust, a tall figure emerged, black wings glinting ominously in the sunlight. The cane's tapping echoed like a death knell.
"Rika, cover my retreat," Yuta whispered, his right hand subtly forming a seal.
"Yuta! Danger!" Rika shrieked, lunging forward.
A purple-black magic circle materialized in the air, and a searing fireball screamed toward them.
Yuta rolled to the side, the fireball grazing his shoulder and exploding behind him, scorching the ground.
"Cough…" The heat choked him.
He forced himself to stand, his left sleeve charred black. Reverse cursed technique flowed through his shoulder, healing his arm instantly.
"No holding back now. Running won't win this," Yuta said, raising his katana, his expression sharpening.
Clang!
His blade swung, meeting the speeding cane.
The clash cracked the ground beneath them.
The fallen angel's wings flared, a purple magic circle exploding above Yuta. A fireball plummeted, trailing flames.
"Rika!"
Rika's shadowy form swelled, her giant claw smashing the fireball. Yuta closed the distance to three meters.
Runes like Toge's appeared on his cheeks. "Don't move!" he shouted at the fallen angel.
The angel's face twitched, his body freezing like iron.
In that split second, Yuta rushed forward, swinging his katana down.
Shing!
As the blade aimed for the angel's head, he jerked aside. The katana sliced into his shoulder, but Yuta's eyes widened—it didn't feel like flesh, but like cutting through thick black mist.
The fallen angel sneered, his rigid body trembling. His wings exploded outward, feathers turning into sharp arrows that shot toward Yuta.
"Yuta!"
Rika's claw shielded him, the feathers piercing her palm, black blood oozing.
Yuta staggered back three steps, watching the angel's shoulder wound heal rapidly. His brows furrowed.
He signaled Rika to retreat. The angel smirked. "Not bad. I didn't expect a human, besides a mage, to harm my body."
Yuta's sharp gaze softened. "Well, either way, I've achieved my goal."
The angel frowned, confused, then noticed the surroundings shift. The sky turned pitch black, the ground a barren wasteland littered with countless swords.
"Domain Expansion: True and False Love," Yuta whispered, pulling a sword from the ground and slashing at the angel.
Tiny fireflies appeared around him, swarming toward the angel.
"Scorching Bugs."
One of Jogo's techniques from the four special-grade cursed spirits.
The bugs hit the angel's purple magic circle, and the domain erupted in fiery red light.
Yuta flickered through the smoke, each appearance marked by new sword strikes.
"Ice Condensation!"
A frost-white arc slashed from a katana pulled from the rubble, freezing the ground beneath the angel. Yuta flipped, grabbing another sword three meters away.
"Thunder Run!"
Blue-white lightning crackled from the blade, but black flames from the angel's wings devoured it.
"Child's play," the angel sneered, his wings spreading. A 360-degree magic circle bloomed like a black lotus.
Yuta leaned back, three fire pillars grazing his nose. He seized a short sword, throwing it. "Explode!"
In the blast, Yuta froze—his left leg was pierced by a feather blade. The angel's cane was inches from his throat.
"It's over, sorcerer."
At the last second, Yuta let go of his sword, letting his body fall. The cane pierced his shoulder, but his fingers brushed another katana.
"Lucky," Yuta said, blood dripping from his mouth as he grinned.
The angel realized too late—Yuta aimed the blade at his abdomen, purple light swirling on the tip, a small purple orb spinning rapidly.
"Purple!"
The orb exploded, tearing a rift in space.
A five-meter-wide beam engulfed the angel before he could summon a magic circle.
"AAAH!"
His scream twisted in the light. His body disintegrated from the wingtips, black feathers dissolving into specks of light. His pristine tuxedo and body vaporized, leaving only half a distorted face screaming incoherently.
A second later, the light swallowed the last of his cries.
When the beam faded, only dust remained in the domain. Yuta stood, reverse cursed technique healing his wounds.
He touched the bloodied hole in his shoulder, muscles regenerating visibly. "Gojo-sensei's technique is something else."
He pulled a katana from the ground as the domain collapsed, sunlight hitting his face again.
Sirens and crowd noise returned. People gawked at the sky, where Purple's beam had shot upward.
"Gotta find Maki…" Yuta muttered, scratching his head. "Hope she didn't run into a monster like that."
---
Komaoh Academy, Back Hills
Blood trickled from Maki's forehead, dripping onto the leaf-strewn ground. She licked the blood from her lips, gripping her katana tighter.
Not far off, a two-meter-tall, black-haired brute cracked his neck, the sound sharp in the air. His massive fists, the size of pots, made his gloves creak. "A human's body shouldn't be this strong. Did you enhance it with cursed energy?"
"Enhance, my ass!" Maki's feral grin echoed through the trees. "I don't have any cursed energy!"
Her words hung in the air as she became a blur.
Her legs exploded forward, shattering the rocks beneath her. Debris flew as her Soul Liberation Blade drew a silver arc, whistling through the air toward the brute's face.
He didn't dodge, raising his left arm. The blade struck his muscled arm, ringing like metal on metal. Maki's eyes widened—the blade bounced slightly.
This guy's body was inhuman.
"Interesting," the brute grinned, his right fist swinging with a gust of wind. Maki ducked, the punch grazing her scalp, snapping a pine tree behind her in half.
Using her crouch, she spun, kicking his knee. He staggered but grabbed for her ankle. Maki flipped backward, her blade slicing a gash across his back.
"Roar!" The brute turned, the wind from his movement choking Maki. He charged like a battering ram.
Maki leaped, stepping three times up a tree trunk to dodge. His shoulder smashed the tree, snapping it in half. Amid flying splinters, Maki's blade aimed for his neck.
Clang! His glove blocked the strike, catching the blade. He grabbed her wrist, yanking her into the air. Maki twisted midair, pressing the blade downward.
Rip! The blade tore through his glove, carving a bone-deep wound in his wrist. Blood sprayed as Maki was slammed into the ground.
"Cough!" As she tried to stand, his massive foot stomped down. She rolled, leaving a shallow crater where she'd been.
She grabbed a rock, hurling it at his wounded knee.
"Argh!" As he doubled over, Maki's knee smashed into his chin.
The crack of breaking bone mixed with spraying spit, painting the brawl in blood.
The brute stumbled back. Maki grabbed her fallen Soul Liberation Blade, pressing it to his throat. Blood from her forehead dripped down her arm. "Strength isn't just about size."
"Is that so?" His feral grin rumbled through the trees. He charged, the blade piercing his throat—but it stopped an inch in, like hitting reinforced steel.
"Courting death!" Maki pushed with both arms, but his iron grip clamped her shoulders.
Searing pain shot through her shoulder blades as he hoisted her overhead like a crane.
"Hah!"
His waist exploded with force, throwing her over his shoulder. The world spun as her back slammed into the ground, granite shattering like glass. A three-meter crater formed in the dust.
"Pfft!" Blood sprayed from Maki's mouth, her vision doubling.
Before she could react, his giant hand grabbed her ankle, lifting her.
He swung her like a hammer, smashing her into the ground repeatedly.
Maki's consciousness wavered, her pupils dilating.
"Are you giving up?" Her sister Mai's voice echoed in her mind as she teetered on the edge of blacking out.
"No." Maki's eyes snapped into focus, her face twisting ferociously.
BOOM! The final slam shook the ground, her back crashing into rubble. Blood surged in her throat as he lifted her by the ankle, her bloodied body dangling.
"You hurt me, human. Be proud," he growled, his voice like grinding stones.
Maki coughed up blood, her vision sharpening through the red haze. She spat a stream of blood into his face.
The blood ran down his scarred grin, tracing eerie patterns.
Instead of wiping it, he laughed, his chest rumbling, tightening his grip on her ankle.
As he reared his fist, Maki's curled body snapped open. Her fingers stabbed into his eye sockets like steel needles.
"ARGGH!" His scream shook the leaves, and he dropped her.
Maki hit the ground, rolling to dodge his flailing arms. Her fingers, slick with eye fluid, burned as she leaped behind him like a cheetah.
Before he could turn, her thumbs pierced his eardrums.
Crack! The sound of bursting eardrums rang out.
Blood poured from his eyes and ears as he thrashed. Maki crouched, her right fist clenching, middle knuckle protruding.
"Hah!"
Her arm muscles bulged, her knuckle smashing into the back of his knee.
Crack! His leg buckled, knee hitting the ground, leaving a crater.
Maki rolled, grabbing the cold handle of her Soul Liberation Blade. She charged.
"ROAR!" The blinded brute swung wildly. Maki ducked under his arm, circling behind. She crouched, gripping the handle, and thrust forward.
Shunk! The blade sank to the hilt, his scream turning shrill. Maki twisted the blade, blood soaking the grip.
As he roared, she yanked the blade out, blood spraying her face. She leaped, arcing through the air, and drove the blade through his open mouth.
Thud! The force pierced from mouth to skull, silencing him except for a gurgling whimper.
Maki pressed the handle until his massive body collapsed, then let go, panting heavily.
The forest fell silent, save for her ragged breathing and the drip of blood onto the leaves.