Toji Fushiguro clasped his hands behind his back, interlacing his fingers. His muscles bulged against his tight shirt, threatening to tear it apart.
Suddenly, he looked up, his eyes flashing with a beast-like light.
BOOM!!!
Toji disappeared as if he had teleported, leaving only shattered stone where he stood from the sheer force of his launch.
"So fast!"
Even with the Six Eyes, Souma and Satoru only saw a blur.
"Satoru! Watch out!"
Before Souma could finish his warning, Toji was already in front of Satoru.
Between the two brothers, Souma was clearly the bigger threat.
So, logically, he would take out the weaker one first!
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"
A terrifying blue vortex exploded, tearing apart the surrounding trees and buildings like a storm.
Since he couldn't track Toji's speed, Satoru decided to use an Area of Effect attack.
However, Toji's speed was absurd. The moment Blue detonated, he had already retreated out of range.
In the forest, a black shadow moved with impossible agility.
Toji kicked off tree trunks, bouncing between them, ignoring gravity entirely.
"Hm?"
Toji paused. He saw Souma keeping up with him.
"Want to compete in taijutsu?"
Toji smiled confidently and turned around, choosing to clash head-on with Souma.
Souma didn't back down. "Shinbu-ryu: Two Heavens, One Sun!"
Derived from the legendary swordsman Miyamoto Musashi's Niten Ichi-ryu, Souma unleashed a barrage of piercing strikes with extreme speed!
What was more terrifying was that every single hit was infused with Black Flash!
At a glance, it looked like a net of black lightning was closing in on Toji.
However, facing this lethal barrage, Toji didn't dodge. He sheathed his Split Soul Katana and used his bare hands.
His hands moved like butterflies weaving through flowers, parrying every single one of Souma's strikes with pinpoint precision.
From Satoru's perspective, the fight was just a blur of motion and the sound of pop-pop-pop explosions.
"A-Amazing!"
Satoru exclaimed genuinely. It was the first time he truly felt the gap between him and his brother.
Relying on his immense talent, Satoru had always slacked off on taijutsu, thinking it was useless since he had the Limitless.
But now, Souma was proving with real combat that taijutsu, when mastered, was devastating.
Meanwhile, Souma's expression grew heavier as he traded blows with Toji.
He realized that what started as an even exchange was turning into him being completely suppressed.
Souma's taijutsu was Grandmaster level.
"No... it's not a difference in skill. It's the body!"
Souma realized that while Toji's technique was also Grandmaster level, it wasn't significantly better than his own.
But Toji was dominating him.
The secret lay in Toji's Heavenly Restriction!
Born with zero cursed energy, he gained a superhuman body in exchange.
Even though their skills were similar, Toji had greater strength, faster speed, and sharper reflexes!
He even had heightened senses—hearing, sight, smell, touch—essentially an evolved superhuman!
BANG!
A defense cannot hold forever. Souma was blasted away by Toji's punch.
Even with the Infinity filtering the impact, Souma felt the massive force tremor through space.
"What monstrous strength..."
"Die!"
Seizing the moment Souma was knocked back, Satoru rushed in, firing a Blue orb point-blank!
BOOM!!!
A violent explosion engulfed Toji.
Before Satoru could relax, countless low-level curses—Fly Heads—suddenly appeared around him.
Their annoying buzzing and the sheer number of them blocking his vision made Satoru irritable.
The Six Eyes' 360-degree vision developed a blind spot.
"It's over!"
A man's voice rang out from behind him.
Satoru's pupils dilated. He spun around, his Limitless technique active at maximum output.
But it was useless. The sense of imminent death didn't fade!
Why?
The cursed tool in Toji's hand provided the answer!
Inverted Spear of Heaven!
A strange-looking dagger, but a genuine Special Grade Cursed Tool.
It possessed the ability to forcibly nullify any technique—including the Limitless!
VZZZT!
The moment the Inverted Spear touched the Infinity, it buzzed and flashed.
After a delay of a nanosecond or less, the blade passed through the barrier without resistance and plunged into Satoru's throat!
Toji grinned savagely and slashed downward, carving Satoru open from neck to chest.
Not finished, Toji stabbed Satoru several more times in the legs.
Finally, he took a regular knife and stabbed it into Satoru's forehead.
Death came like a tidal wave. Suffocation and weightlessness seized his brain.
But in that instant, Satoru's mind was incredibly clear.
"Ah? Am I dying?"
Satoru's eyes moved. Everything around him seemed to pause.
The curses, Toji, the Inverted Spear, the blood...
Satoru felt like an observer. Even though his body screamed in pain, he couldn't move it.
"Dying like this... feels a bit unsatisfying!"
An ethereal sensation filled his mind.
Cursed energy, techniques, construction, destruction, attraction, repulsion...
In a split second, countless strange images flashed before Satoru's eyes.
In reality, Satoru's body collapsed like a ragdoll. He had stopped breathing.
"Next is you!"
Toji turned to Souma, chuckled, and charged.
"Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue!"
A blue aura surrounded Souma's body, forming a secondary barrier outside his Infinity.
"Hoh?"
Toji raised an eyebrow. "Knowing my tool can nullify the Limitless, you're using the technique itself as a dense shield to keep me away?"
"Making such calm judgments... your brother just died in front of you. Can't you give a better reaction?"
"Cry, scream, show me an opening!"
Souma smirked. "Shut up..."
SWISH!
Toji obliged. No more talk.
Clink clink clink...
The sound of chains rattling.
One end inside the curse "Inventory," the other connected to the Inverted Spear of Heaven. A Special Grade tool that could extend infinitely as long as the end wasn't seen—the Chain of a Thousand Miles!
Toji, moving fast enough to leave afterimages, threw the Inverted Spear straight at Souma.
Upon contact with the Blue barrier, it instantly nullified the technique.
"Damn it! Blue counts as a technique too!"
Souma grimaced. This Inverted Spear was a cheat code!
Especially paired with Toji, a physical monster with no cursed energy to track. He was the perfect counter to all sorcerers!
Souma dodged the throw. Toji charged with the Split Soul Katana.
Suddenly, Toji grinned.
He swung the katana at a weird angle.
Souma dodged it easily. He was confused, until Toji yanked the chain.
The Inverted Spear, which had flown past Souma, whipped around like a boomerang and stabbed him squarely in the back.
"FUCK! MY KIDNEY AGAIN!"
Before Souma could finish his curse, Toji drove the Split Soul Katana through his heart.