" Wow!" Fukuoka exclaimed, his voice filled with curiosity.
" Nanai, how about you be next? We've never seen your powers!"
Nobaru encouraged her with a provocative smile.
Nanai accepted, a challenge gleaming in her eyes.
" That's great!" Nobaru cheered.
Nanai channeled her energy. Her hand stretched out, and the air cracked. The attack, the "Bartão" came like a sudden gale.
" Wow, you're quite fast!"
Nobaru acknowledged, but her voice was already cold.
In a blink, Nobaru's smile dissolved into a grimace of pure hatred.
She lunged with a grunt, and her punch, loaded with brutal fury, hit Nanai squarely in the face. The sound was dry and hollow.
Nanai flew backward, falling with a dull thud several meters away.
" You... BITCH!"
Nanai spat the words, blood trickling from her lip.
"What a dirty little mouth you have!"
Nobaru retorted, contempt dripping from her voice.
At this moment, the aged bandages covering Nanai's face and body began to tear and fall away, like a broken shell.
A shiver ran through everyone. What was revealed was a body that was entirely black, dense, and uneven, like burned and scarred flesh. It was a shocking sight of ancient pain.
"Why did you do that?!"
Nanai's voice rose, filled with fury and despair. It was the scream of someone whose deepest wound had just been exposed.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Nobaru remained standing, imposing, holding her axe with cruel indifference.
" Seal Release, Invoke Sin God!"
Nanai roared, energy pulsating wildly around her.
"Help me kill her!"
Nobaru took an abrupt leap backward, her jaw tense.
"Kill that woman! KILL HER!"
Nanai's voice was now a maniacal echo.
A colossal figure of unbelievable strength and speed materialized in the air. The Sin God was there.
"Finish her!" Nanai screamed, her eyes bloodshot.
" Seal Release, Dragons!"
Nobaru's counterattack came with the speed of lightning, but it was useless.
The Sin God crushed the defense. The force was absolute.
He appeared in front of Nobaru. She was struck by a barrage of crushing punches and, with a final kick, fell. She screamed, the pain tearing through her.
"Seal Release, Dragons!"
Nobaru's resource was repeated, desperate.
But the Sin God advanced, massacred the dragons and, with a dry blow, broke two of Nobaru's fingers. Her scream was cut short, turning into a muffled whimper of agony.
Nobaru was losing blood rapidly. Meanwhile, Nanai repeated the mantra, her eyes vacant:
"Kill her, kill her!"
" This bitch is completely out of control!"
Nobaru said, feeling weakness consume her.
She was exhausted. The recent effort to help Yoshi's soul had consumed an immense amount of her vital energy, leaving her vulnerable.
" Seal Release, Tusumaro!"
Nobaru invoked.
A grotesque monster burst from the ground, throwing massive chains that wrapped around the Sin God. For an instant, Nanai's monster was trapped, but with a roar, it snapped the chains like thread.
" How can I lose to a girl... like her?"
Nobaru murmured, blood spurting from a deep cut on her side.
Instead of despair, she let out a hoarse, maniacal laugh.
" I can't look ugly today... I have a date!"
It was the last drop of determination.
" Seal Release, Xionogami!"
A celestial glow appeared in the sky, intense and overwhelming, and descended directly upon the Sin God. The light dissolved it instantly, turning it into nothing.
Nanai fell to the ground, unconscious. Her friends ran to help her.
"Sensei Nobaru, why did you go so hard?!"
Fukuoka's voice echoed, filled with frustration and concern.
Nobaru scoffed, massaging her arm with a tense expression.
"That bitch... she almost killed me, kid! She unleashed insane brute force!"
Hospital
"How is she, Doctor? Tell me the truth!"
The doctor smiled, with the calmness of someone who has seen everything.
"She's going to be fine. Her body is surprisingly resilient."
The night dragged on. Fukuoka remained rooted next to Nanai's bed, the weak light of the infirmary casting shadows.
00:30 AM.
The door creaked softly.
" What are you still doing here?!"
Fukuoka said, surprised to see Yoshi.
Yoshi raised a bag with a tired smile.
" I brought you something to eat. You haven't left here since they brought her in. She has a great friend, you know?"
Fukuoka sighed, his gaze fixed on Nanai.
" It's not just friendship. I feel like she's... my little sister, you know?"
At that moment, Nanai's eyes opened, an irritated gleam cutting through the fatigue.
" I am not your sister or anything, you idiot!"
she grumbled, her voice hoarse.
A huge, relieved smile spread across Fukuoka's face.
" My sweet little sister, you're awake!"
Nanai grumbled, clenching her fists:
"You pretentious idiot... I met you the day before yesterday!"
Five days later. Under the warm sunlight and a strong wind that rustled the leaves, Yagato and Nobaru were talking, sitting on a bench beneath a towering tree.
"I heard you took a memorable beating, Nobaru,"
Yagato commented, holding back a laugh.
Nobaru shook her head, forcing a dry laugh.
" (Laughter) Oh, please! I was weak! Exhausted from having wasted energy helping Kakai's bastard son!"
He crossed his arms, seriousness returning to his gaze.
"But I have to admit. The girl... has a terrifying future. That monster she manifested is impressive. I had to use my 'Lucky Shot' just to avoid having to fight seriously. Tomorrow, the game ends. I will start the real second part of the training."
"Seriously though... when are Gitana, Saferin, and Momoco finally coming back?"
Nobaru asked.
Yagato shrugged, unsure.
" I don't know. Their mission is complex."
Nobaru closed her eyes, feeling the strong breeze.
"Without them around, the school loses its charm and challenge!"
Across the world, Saferin and Gitana had been immersed for five days in an agonizing search for a cursed being in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. Gitana, sweat streaming down her face in torrents, her anger boiling.
" Damn it, I can't take this hell anymore! It's too hot, there are insects to rip off your skin, and this forest is a living tomb!"
The surrounding region seemed to pulse with an ancient, cursed energy.
Even with the invasion of modernity outside, this area had remained forgotten and uninhabited for many years.