Greetings fellow reader, Master W here
New chapter for you guys, sorry for the wait. I hope you like it
Without any further to do, enjoy
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(Third Person's POV)
The moment the curtain sealed the forest clearing, the fight exploded into motion.
Suda Manami was a blur, launching herself at Saeko with a speed that belied her heels and choice of attire.
Saeko shifted her stance, catching the punch with an arm. The impact was solid, but far below what could be real damage for her
Toshihisa, meanwhile, targeted Zaimozuka. The boy raised his arms in a hexagon guard, but Toshihisa's cursed-energy-enhanced kick landed with a sickening crack, bypassing the defense and connecting squarely with Zaimozuka's jaw.
The force was tremendous, far beyond what his physique suggested. Zaimozuka was lifted off his feet and hurled backward like a ragdoll, crashing through a thicket with a cry of pain.
Saeko, who had blocked Suda's follow-up strike, a kick, felt the shockwave from the impact. Her eyes widened slightly
"Surprised?" Suda purred, not pursuing immediately. She held up a manicured hand, examining her nails as if bored. "It's thanks to my cursed technique: 'Dress to Impress' It increases my physical strength based on the monetary value difference between my attire and my opponent's."
'Revealing One's Hand' Saeko recognized instantly. Their teacher had explained about Binding vow a short time ago, and this one was one of the most common ones.
A Binding Vow that increased the technique's power in exchange for explaining its rules
"I'm wearing a Louis Vuitton haute couture dress," Suda continued, smoothing the sleek black fabric. "Roughly 500,000 yen. And these?" She pointed at her feet. Her boot-heels gleaming. "Manolo Blahnik Limited edition. Over a million yen. So, against someone in… that," she gestured dismissively at Saeko's casual park attire, "the difference is quite a bit"
Having laid out the terms, Suda moved. She didn't target Saeko again. Instead, she shot toward the groaning Zaimozuka, who was struggling to rise. Before Mai could intercept, Suda delivered a reinforced punch to his midsection. The air left his lungs in a choked gasp as he was launched another dozen feet, slamming into a tree trunk.
"Huh, weird" Suda mused, tilting her head as she turned toward Mai, who had been closing in. Mai braced, her own cursed energy flaring. Suda's kick came next, which Mai blocked with crossed arms. The force was still immense, sending Mai skidding back through the dirt, but it was noticeably less devastating than the blow that had floored Zaimozuka.
"I get more of a boost punching that fatty than I do against you two," Suda commented, a curious glint in her eye
"Maybe they're wearing expensive clothing?" Toshihisa suggested, landing beside her, his scarred face set in a grimace. He understood the mechanic: the smaller the financial gap, the weaker Suda's enhancement.
"No, I'd recognize designer streetwear or high-end casual" Suda dismissed, her gaze analytically sweeping over Saeko and Mai. A slow, incredulous, then deeply amused smile spread across her lips. "Unless…" Her eyes flicked downward, then back to their faces. "Oh. I see. Well, I guess girls will be girls."
"What?" Toshihisa asked, baffled.
"Nothing a man would ever notice or understand," Suda said with a dismissive wave.
Across the clearing, the truth hit Saeko and Mai simultaneously. Their eyes met. Mai's glare was one of pure, unadulterated fury and embarrassment. Saeko's returning glance was one of icy disdain and mutual understanding.
Underwear.
Specifically, expensive lingerie.
Both had interpreted Akira's invitation to the park as a potential date, leading to something more.... private.
Both had come prepared for an… intimate encounter with their handsome teacher
Mai, with her modeling income and the generous stipend Akira provided all his students, had splurged on an extravagant, limited-edition set of lace and silk confection that cost more than most people's monthly rent
Saeko, the heir to a prestigious, wealthy kendo dojo with a long list of powerful and wealthy alumni, had a trust fund she rarely touched. For this occasion, she had acquired a set from another extravagant brand, understated, impeccably crafted, and exorbitantly priced.
Their most intimate armor was, inadvertently, leveling the playing field against a technique based on fashion
A silent communication passed between them in that locked gaze.
We will discuss this after the fight, Mai's furious stare shot back.
Agreed, Saeko's eyes said
"Let me handle this one," Saeko said aloud, her voice calm. "She can't cause me as much damage as she could to you. Go help Zaimozuka-san."
Mai understood the subtext perfectly: with their lingerie costs likely being in the same astronomical ballpark, Suda's power boost against Saeko was minimized.
Mai, whose set was probably slightly less costly, was at a bigger disadvantage. She scoffed. "Tch! Fucking rich girls." But she didn't argue, darting away to where Zaimozuka was groaning.
That left Saeko and Suda facing each other in the dappled forest light.
Suda's amused smile returned. "So, I'm guessing… Agent Provocateur?"
Saeko's expression didn't change. ".... Kiki de Montparnasse."
Suda let out a low, appreciative whistle. "Wow. Aiming high. You go, girl!" She gave a playful, supportive fist pump. "So… who's the lucky man? Someone here in the park? Don't tell me it's that big fatty I just punched away"
"Let's just fight," Saeko stated, her hand settling into an empty-handed combat stance. Sandai-Kitetsu was with Miko, but her body was the deadliest weapon she owned.
"Okay then!" Suda chirped, her demeanor flipping from gossipy to lethal in an instant
They moved at the same time.
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On another part of the park, another chaotic battle was unfolding.
Miko, Hana, and Yuria had ducked into an empty room.
Across the hall, Mimiko and Nanako pressed themselves against the wall in a janitor's closet.
A torrent of searing orange flame roared down the hallway, licking at the doors. Before the heat could build, the wall of the room exploded inward in a shower of drywall and splinters
Takeuchi stood in the new opening.
His large, round eyes calm.
In his hands, he held a lance of solidified, brilliant yellow cursed energy. Without a word, he hurled it straight at the trio.
"Mamoru!" Miko's shout was sharp. Her fox-like shikigami materialized in a blur of shadows, intercepting the lance mid-flight. Its powerful jaws clamped down on the energy construct with a sound like shattering glass, grinding it into dissipating sparks.
Before Takeuchi could react, Yuria's hands shot forward. Thin, nearly invisible strings of cursed energy erupted from her fingertips, whipping toward him with deadly precision.
Takeuchi's body twisted with unnatural fluidity, evading the strands that instead sliced five deep gashes into the concrete wall behind him.
"Go!" Miko hissed. The three sorcerers bolted from the ruined closet, meeting the twins who were already spilling out of their hiding spot. The five girls scrambled down a side corridor as another yellow lance whistled past, embedding itself where Nanako's head had been a second before.
"These guys are nuts!" Nanako shrieked, ducking behind a pillar, clutching her cell phone.
"I can't establish a link. My doll can't latch onto their souls!" Mimiko cried in frustration
"Mamoru! Smoke!" Miko commanded. Her shikigami opened its maw and released a cluster of small, dark orbs that exploded into thick, billowing clouds of obscuring smoke. "Yuria, now!"
"On it!" Yuria's strings shot into the smoke, not to attack, but to ignite the small sparks of cursed energy within the smoke grenades. The corridor flashed with muffled concussions, and the air filled with a stinging, disorienting haze.
A pair of curses—one pained, one annoyed—echoed from within the cloud.
"Oh, son of a—!"
"Hmm?!"
The girls didn't wait. They turned and fled, crashing through a door marked 'Staff Only' and into a dim, empty break room. They barricaded the door with a vending machine, panting heavily
"Haa… Haa…" Nanako gasped, leaning against a table. "Those guys are crazy! Going full auto on a bunch of teenage girls! Doesn't he have any manners?!"
"We need a plan, and fast," Miko said, her mind racing even as she kept her breathing steady. "One controls fire, the other constructs energy lances. That's the extent of what we know"
"Yeah, and it's not much," Yuria added, peeking through a crack in the door's window.
"I can't get a grip with my technique unless I'm touching them directly, or their cursed energy is weaker than mine," Mimiko explained, her voice tight with worry.
"And I can't get a clear picture for my phone. They move way too fast for a clean shot," Nanako finished.
"They're both at least Grade 1," Yuria concluded grimly
Miko nodded, her mind coming to a conclusion quickly. She looked at the group, her gaze firm. "Okay. Here's how we split up. Hana, you stay in the rear, but close. Do not engage directly"
"Ehh? Why not?" Hana protested.
"You're the only one here who can output Reverse Cursed Technique. You're our medic. If you get taken out or burn through your energy, we're all in deep trouble."
"You know RCT? That's seriously cool," Nanako said, impressed despite the situation.
"Nanako," Miko turned to the twin with the long hair. "You're with me. We handle the lance guy. Yuria, you pair with Mimiko and take the fire user. Hana, you stick with Yuria's group for cover"
"Eh? Why like that? My technique works way better with my sister!" Nanako objected.
"You need a picture of the target, right?" Miko asked.
"Yeah, so?"
"I can use my sensory technique to predict his movements. I'll tell you exactly when and where he'll be. You get the shot, then use your technique to disrupt him, even if it's just small cuts or a shove. We need to create openings"
"Okay… but I can only make small scratches or trip him up. I don't have enough juice to do anything major more than a couple of times"
"And why am I with her?" Yuria asked, pointing at Mimiko
"Because your strings are for restraint. You and Mimiko work together—you tie the fire guy down, and once he's immobilized, Mimiko touches him directly to activate her technique. It's the only way we can subdue someone that strong."
Yuria considered it for a second, then nodded. "Okay. Makes sense."
"Hey, little girls!" Miyagawa's taunting voice echoed down the hallway outside, getting closer. "Where are youuuu? I'm getting really tired of this shit!"
No more time. Miko met each of their eyes. She grabbed her staff tightly and twirled it "Let's move!"
As one, the five girls burst out of the break room, not through the barricaded door, but through a side window, shattering the glass. They landed in the hallway
The two Claw members were ready, having split up to flank the area. Miyagawa, flames dancing across his knuckles, stood at one end of the hallway. Takeuchi, another yellow lance already forming in his hand, stood at the other.
The girls didn't hesitate. They split exactly as planned.
Miko and Nanako sprinted toward Takeuchi. Yuria, Mimiko, and Hana turned to face Miyagawa.
The battles turned into high-gear
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On the forest, the fight was a maddening, one-sided struggle.
Every time Zaimozuka tried to attack Toshihisa, his own limbs would jerk and twist against his will, turning his punches and kicks toward Mai.
"What are you doing?!" Mai yelled, narrowly ducking a wild swing meant for her head.
"I don't know!" Zaimozuka grunted, straining against an invisible force "My body—it's moving by itself!"
From his calm position, Toshihisa smirked, his large, unblinking eyes fixed on Zaimozuka. "That would be me," he said, his voice flat. "My technique is 'Body Sync.' It allows me to control the body of anyone I'm staring at"
As he spoke, his cursed energy flared, weaving a shimmering, intangible thread between his gaze and Zaimozuka's struggling form. Revealing One's Hand.
The Binding Vow took hold, and Toshihisa's control intensified, making Zaimozuka's movements more puppet-like and precise in their betrayal before being released
Panting, Zaimozuka shot a desperate glance at Mai. A silent question passed between them 'Should we…?'
"You do it," Mai said, her voice low and tense. "Yours is more straightforward than mine."
Zaimozuka nodded, then turned his glare back to Toshihisa. "Alright, scarred man! My technique is called 'Black Oblivion Flames of the Dark Kingdom'! It lets me create and control black flames that feed on cursed energy! They burn until whatever they touch is ash!"
As Zaimozuka finished his own vow, the air around him grew hotter. Inky black flames sparked to life around his fists, swirling with hungry intensity.
The power of his technique surged, responding to the Binding Vow's trade. Toshihisa's control wavered for a split second, the increased output of Zaimozuka's energy creating interference.
Seizing the opening, Zaimozuka launched a blast of black fire. Toshihisa sidestepped, but not before the edge of the flames singed his sleeve. He quickly tore it and threw it to the ground. The fabric burns into ash on the ground
The real fight began.
Toshihisa was a seasoned Curse User, with enough experience on the field.
He used Zaimozuka's own enhanced strength and flames against him. With a flick of his will, he'd make Zaimozuka stumble into his own fiery aura, earning yelps of pain as the black flames licked at his legs. Of course, Zaimozuka absorbing them before they could cause more damage
He'd force Zaimozuka to unleash wide, uncontrolled sweeps of fire that Mai had to frantically avoid, dividing their attention.
"You rely too much on that flashy power, boy," Toshihisa taunted, his eyes never leaving his target. "Your fire is good, but without control, you're just a hazard to yourself"
Zaimozuka was tiring, his movements growing sluggish even without the forced control.
He was burning through cursed energy at a terrifying rate, both to fuel his own technique and to try and resist Toshihisa's.
In a moment of desperation, he summoned a wall of black fire between himself and Toshihisa. The flames roared, completely obscuring him from view.
Instantly, the invasive control vanished. Zaimozuka gasped in relief, his body his own again. 'He can't control me if he can't see me!'
But Toshihisa just smiled. With a gesture, he used his technique on a large, fallen branch, hurling it through the flames to disrupt them. The moment the fire parted and Zaimozuka was visible again, the control snapped back, making him trip over his own feet.
Throughout the brutal exchange, a nagging feeling ate at Toshihisa's focus.
Something was off.
A gap in his perception.
He was fighting one opponent… but he'd come here with Suda to deal with three. The purple-haired sword girl was fighting Suda.
The loud boy was here.
But the other girl… the one with the sharp eyes and the cold demeanor… where was she?
He hadn't seen her since the initial split.
He hadn't even thought about her.
The realization was slippery, like trying to remember a dream upon waking. Was there really another girl?
He can't seem to focus on it... What was he thinking again?
Every time he tried to focus on it, Zaimozuka would unleash another desperate, fiery attack, demanding his full attention.
Finally, Zaimozuka overextended.
A massive gout of black flame left him wide open. Toshihisa seized control, forcing Zaimozuka's arm down and making him palm-strike his own chest with a fiery hand. The boy cried out, collapsing to one knee, the black flames on his body sputtering out as his energy finally bottomed out.
"Pathetic," Toshihisa said, stepping closer for the finishing blow. "All that power, and you defeated yourself"
That's when he felt it, a presence materializing directly behind him, so close he could feel the change in the air. His eyes widened. He hadn't sensed anyone approaching.
He hadn't remembered to be wary of a third combatant.
No…. He completely forgot the existence of another combatant
A calm, cold voice spoke into his ear.
'Where was she?!' He rapidly thought
And as if reading his thought, she answered "I've been here the entire time"
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(Some Time Ago)
The usual clearing for the training of Yoshioka students was filled with the teenagers practising against one another.
But Mai had managed to ask for Akira's time to train her personally with her technique, which of course was just a ploy to have some time alone with the white-haired teacher.
Of course, she didn't expect Akira to turn it into a true lesson
"Your technique is not for frontal confrontation, Sakurajima-san."
"What do you mean, Sensei?"
"Now that you have learned to fully control your cursed technique, it is obvious. Your focuses in bending perception, to diminish your presence... it does not excel in solo duels against aware sorcerers. It shines in tandem with another."
"Why so?"
"You are the perfect assassin," Akira stated, as if commenting on the weather. "You can dim your presence, vanish from an opponent's conscious perception. With enough refinement, you can even make it focused in one single target, to make them forget you exist. If another sorcerer occupies your enemy's full attention, you can wait for the perfect moment to strike. A single, well-placed hit from the shadows can end a battle that frontal force could not. Therefore, your training will be that of an assassin"
"What are we going to do, Sensei?"
"I will teach you the body's most vulnerable points. The places where minimal force yields maximum damage. An assassin does not seek to prolong a fight. An assassin seeks the one opening that ends it"
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(Present)
The memory crystallized in Mai's mind at the same moment her body moved.
Toshihisa started to turn, without looking fully at his target, his 'Body Sync' technique can't find a new target to control, but it was too late.
She was just on his spot, away from his technique
Her hand shot forward with a slender, reinforced knife she'd concealed on her
The blade slipped between his ribs, angled upward with surgical precision, seeking not just to pierce but to critically disable him from fighting
Without any RCT at his disposal, that wound is clearly fatal
Toshihisa's body seized. All the air left his lungs in a wet, choked cough, followed by a spray of crimson.
His cursed energy stuttered and fractured
Mai leaned closer, her voice a whisper only he could hear, mirroring the cold finality of her teacher.
"Checkmate"
Then she turned, moving to his other side before he could lock her with his technique, rotating her whole body, and aiming her elbow into his other side
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(Some Time Ago)
"Sensei, do you think I could do a Black Flash as well?"
"What do you mean?"
"Miko-chan managed to do it, multiple times in fact. You did it about three consecutive times in that fight, and when I asked it was supposed to be something almost impossible to accomplish, yet Miko and you did it already" She turned and looked at her hands "I'm supposed to be one of your first students, just like Miko, yet I feel like I'm pretty much behind"
'I feel like I can't reach you' She thought to herself
Seeing her turmoil Akira simple stated
"It is not something you could force. Usually, to get a Black Flash, you need to get in hyper-focused, you need to let the moment occupy your body, while your mind does the rest"
"I don't get it"
"Do not worry, I am sure you will get it sooner than later"
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(Present)
She stood at the ready, her elbow, brimming with cursed energy, then she felt it. Her mind blank, with just a single thought
'I'm not weak!'
"Black Flash!" She hit his side with her elbow, lightning jumping around from the hit.
His ribs broke from the force, not being able to react quickly. He was thrown away by the impact
Just then, the veil surrounding then lifted
"So Saeko finished as well"
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Saeko felt like a predator toying with its prey.
Even with Suda's technique 'Dress to Impress' amplifying her strength thanks to the million-yen difference between their attire, Suda was hopelessly outclassed.
Saeko's movements were a fluid and effortless. She swayed aside from a punch that could crater concrete, stepped over a sweeping kick, and leaned back just enough for a clawed hand to whistle past her throat.
"Stay still, dammit!" Suda shrieked, frustration boiling over. Her expensively-done hair was disheveled, her perfect makeup smeared with sweat and dirt.
Saeko merely smiled, a small, serene, and utterly infuriating curl of her lips.
She was using her opponent as a test dummy
Her teacher's words echoed in her mind.
----------------------------------------------------
"You still move like a normal person."
"You need to get accustomed to that body... Sense the world using your full body. Ask, and it shall answer."
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She closed her eyes for a moment amidst the flurry of enhanced attacks.
She tried to reach for that feeling, to feel the air currents shifting, the minute tremors in the earth from Suda's footfalls, the pressure of incoming force before it even arrived.
She wanted to unlock that deeper layer of her Heavenly Restriction, to move not with thought, but with instinct so refined it bordered on premonition.
But Suda was too slow, too predictable, her rage making her attacks telegraphed and clumsy. The spark wouldn't ignite.
'This opponent isn't strong enough to force the breakthrough' Saeko realized with a twinge of disappointment.
She needed a real threat, a clash that danced on the edge of life and death.
The experiment was over.
Saeko's eyes snapped open, her expression shifting and filling lethal intent.
As Suda lunged again with a shriek, Saeko stepped inside the attack, her hand moving in a blur.
Her fingers didn't aim for flesh, but for fabric. With a sharp, precise tear, she ripped a large section of the sleek, black Louis Vuitton dress from Suda's side, from hip to ribcage.
Suda gasped, leaping back as if scalded. Her hand flew to the exposed skin, her eyes wide with shock and dawning horror.
'She figured it out' Suda thought, panic clawing at her throat. Her technique's power was tied to the monetary value of her attire. Damaged goods were worth less. A torn dress was a downgraded dress. Her boost was already plummeting.
Before the thought fully formed, Saeko vanished from her sight.
A fist like a steel piston drove into Suda's solar plexus, driving every ounce of air from her lungs in a voiceless wheeze. Before she could double over, Saeko was in the air, a spinning heel kick connecting with the side of her face with a sickening thwack.
Suda was hurled sideways, crashing through a bush and skidding across the forest floor. Only a last-second, desperate reinforcement of cursed energy had kept her jaw from shattering.
Dazed, vision swimming, Suda looked up.
Saeko was walking toward her with a slow, deliberate stalk.
The serene smile was gone, replaced by something darker
A sadistic, gleaming pleasure in her crimson eyes.
She was like a cat. A cat that had finally grown bored of playing a mouse and was ready for the kill.
Fear, cold and absolute, overrode pride.
Suda scrambled to her feet, her torn dress flapping.
She ran.
With a frantic gesture, she dispelled the Veil around their section of the forest. The sounds of the park flooded back in as she burst into the clearing where the other fight had been.
She saw her partner, Toshihisa, slumped against a tree, a knife buried in his side, blood trickling from his mouth as he breathed in ragged, wet gasps. Without slowing, she grabbed him, hauling his arm over her shoulder, and fled into the park's crowded pathways, disappearing into the sea of oblivious civilians.
The Veil fell completely,
Mai and Zaimozuka walked over to the scene. Mai watched the two curse users flee, then turned a flat stare toward Saeko, who had emerged calmly from the tree line.
"Couldn't you just kill her?" Mai asked, her tone dry.
"I could have," Saeko admitted, the dark glint still in her eyes. "But I wanted to savor her despair a little longer. There's a certain excitement in watching them run, knowing they've been utterly broken." She let out a soft, almost dreamy sigh.
Zaimozuka and Mai took an involuntary, synchronized step back from the blushing, seemingly euphoric swordswoman.
"Okay," Mai said slowly "Just make sure you finish the job next time."
"Oh? Did you kill yours?" Saeko asked, tilting her head.
"No... I mean, I stabbed his kidney. So, unless he gets treatment fast, he should die pretty soon." Mai shrugged, not really caring if her target survived or not
"Hmm." Saeko hummed, then turned her gaze to Zaimozuka. "Zaimozuka, how about you go and rejoin the others? Mai and I have a... pending issue we need to discuss."
Zaimozuka looked between the two intense young women, decided he wanted no part of whatever that discussion entailed, and nodded rapidly. "Oh! Okay then!" He nearly tripped over his own feet in his haste to leave.
Once he was gone, Mai crossed her arms, her expression returning to its usual irritated state. "Where to, Sadist?"
Saeko's smile returned, now more mischievous than murderous. She pointed toward the park's centerpiece, a giant, slowly turning Ferris wheel, its gondolas offering a private space to talk "Let's talk on the Ferris wheel. It's more... private"
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The air in the horror house hummed with violence.
Takeuchi, his large eyes cold and a serious expression on his face, raised a hand. Another lance of brilliant yellow cursed energy coalesced in his grip. "This is pointless" he stated, his voice flat and devoid of emotion "Just give up. It will be quicker."
He hurled the lance. A shot for her thigh. Miko Yotsuya didn't even seem to look. Her body shifted a fraction, and the lance embedded itself in the wall behind her with a sharp crack.
Her eyes, however, were shining with an inner focus. 'Seventh Sense' the name she'd brainstormed with Sensei. It was terrible, she knew that, but it she isn't that good with names
Her innate technique wasn't about raw power; it was about perception. By concentrating, she could extend a sensory field like a sonar, reading the disturbances and flows of cursed energy around her.
She could feel the buildup before an attack, sense the shift in weight before a movement. It was prediction through pure, intuitive perception.
'Though she still had to actively concentrate to keep it active' It was a mental drain, and the relentless assault was wearing on her.
She flipped back, landing lightly beside Nanako. The twin was breathing heavily, her phone held shakily, its camera lens pointed toward Takeuchi. "I'm running out of juice" Nanako panted. "We better finish this quickly."
"I'll let him throw me into the wall," Miko said, her voice low and steady despite her racing heart. "You get the picture, then switch us."
Nanako's eyes widened, but she gave a sharp nod. "Got it."
Miko took a deep breath and lunged forward, it was an attack, it was a bait. She moved with deliberate, evasive patterns, her short staff a blur as she deflected smaller energy projectiles Takeuchi casually flicked toward her.
She was leading him, guiding him towards their trap
"You're only delaying the inevitable," Takeuchi sighed, as if bored. He saw an opening, her back was nearing a concrete support column. With a swift, powerful motion, he summoned a thicker lance and thrust it forward aiming to stab her into the wall
Miko saw it coming through her 'Seventh Sense', the surge of energy, the trajectory. She moved her head away as the spear stabbed into the wall behind her.
"Now!" she gasped.
CLICK.
Nanako's phone shutter sounded. In the same instant, she poured the last dregs of her cursed energy into her technique.
Takeuchi felt a sudden, dizzying lurch.
The world blurred. One moment he was striding forward to finish off the pinned girl, the next he was against the cold, rough concrete, the impact site still warm from Miko's body heat.
Disoriented, he looked up
Miko was now standing where he had been, mere feet away. There was no hesitation in her eyes, only cold focus.
Her short staff was already in motion, a vicious horizontal swing aimed directly at his face. It connected with a wet crunch.
His head snapped back, striking the wall. Before he could even process the pain, Mio launched another, and then another.
Her staff became a piston, striking his ribs, his shoulders, his gut, each blow reinforced with precise bursts of cursed energy, each impact driving him harder into the wall, cracking the concrete behind him.
For her final blow, she planted her feet, drew her staff back, and concentrated every ounce of her remaining energy into the tip. The air crackled around it.
"Enough!" she shouted, and thrust forward.
The reinforced end of the staff struck his sternum. The force blasted through him. The concrete wall behind him shattered, and Takeuchi was thrown through the new opening into the adjacent room in a cloud of dust and debris. He landed in a heap and did not move
Miko lowered her staff, her chest heaving. "Let's go check on the others," she said, turning to Nanako
"Hmm," Nanako nodded, her phone still raised out of habit.
FWIP!
Miko's 'Seventh Sense' screamed a warning a half-second before her eyes saw it. From the cloud of dust in the other room, a final, desperate yellow lance shot out, aimed directly for Nanako's heart.
There was no time to think, only to react.
Nanako's own instincts, honed by survival on the run with Geto, fired. Her thumb jammed down on the shutter button. CLICK. Her technique, fueled by sheer adrenaline, activated one last time.
The world swapped.
Miko stumbled, now standing a few feet to the left. Where she had been, Takeuchi now stood, his eyes wide with shock and pain.
The yellow lance he had thrown with his dying strength was now buried deep in his own chest, having traveled the short distance unimpeded. He looked down at the shaft of light protruding from his sternum, a look of profound confusion on his face. The lance flickered and dissolved into golden motes.
He took one stumbling step forward, then collapsed face-first onto the floor. A dark, rapidly expanding pool of blood began to seep out from beneath him.
Silence.
Miko stared at the motionless body. The adrenaline of battle evaporated, leaving a hollow, cold reality in its wake. The metallic scent of blood filled her nostrils. Her stomach twisted violently.
She turned away and vomited, emptying the contents of her stomach onto the dirty floor. She heaved until there was nothing left, tears stinging her eyes from the strain.
Nanako was at her side in an instant, rubbing her back in slow circles. "There, there," she murmured, her own voice steady. "It's okay. You had to. We had to."
After a few more dry heaves, Miko wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, then with a cloth from her pocket. She took a deep, shuddering breath and straightened up, her face pale but set. She didn't look back at the body.
"Let's move," she said, her voice rough but firm. The fight was over, but the day was not. They had to find their friends. She is a student of Yoshioka Akira, weakness isn't an option
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The air in the cramped, half-demolished room was thick with heat and the acrid smell of smoke.
Flames licked at the walls where Miyagawa's attacks had struck, casting flickering, hellish shadows.
Yuria moved with desperate grace, her body a blur as she evaded another torrent of fire that roared past her shoulder, singeing the ends of her hair.
She countered with a flick of her wrists; nearly invisible cursed-energy strings shot from her fingertips, whistling through the air. Miyagawa snarled, jerking back, but not before two strands sliced shallow lines across his forearms. It was just a scratch.
In return, a glancing wave of heat seared across Yuria's calf, making her hiss in pain. The burns weren't deep, but they stung fiercely. This was the problem with a pyromaniac in a confined space. Area denial.
She couldn't set up her strings, couldn't control the battlefield. He could just burn everything.
Behind a scorched counter, Hana was frantically applying a shimmering layer of Reverse Cursed Technique to Mimiko's singed arm. The twin grimaced but held still, her doll clutched tightly. They were pinned.
'I'm weak' the thought screamed in Yuria's mind as she ducked behind a crumbling support pillar, feeling the heat of another fireball warp the air around it. 'Miko can predict everything. Mai can disappear. Zaimozuka can burn the world. I just have… strings'
--------------------------------------------------------
(Some Time Ago)
The clearing was quiet after training. Yuria stared at her hands. Frustration etched on her face.
"Sensei, I can't seem to get enough control. My technique is useless. They're just… cat-scratches"
Akira, who was observing her, shook his head slightly. "Your technique is quite powerful, Niguredou-san. You simply have not yet mastered its potential."
"What can I do? I'm obviously weaker than Miko, or Mai. Even Zaimozuka has a stronger technique than me!"
"You are thinking too simply. You must expand your imagination," Akira replied, his crimson eyes holding hers. "In open spaces, you may feel limited. But in closed ones, with preparation, your technique can become the most dangerous of them all. It is not about raw power. It is about control, about creating a cage your opponent does not realize they have entered until it is too late. You must have confidence in yourself, and make use of your imagination"
He then turned and walked toward Zaimozuka, who had just face-planted while attempting a new stance. Yuria watched him go, the words echoing but feeling hollow against the evidence of her own perceived inadequacy.
---------------------------------------------------------
(Present)
Miyagawa grinned, flames dancing across his knuckles. "Getting tired, little girl? Just give up. I promise you will enjoy it, after a couple of rounds"
Yuria's breath hitched. Her eyes darted around the room, the burning debris, the narrow space, the ceiling crisscrossed with pipes and broken conduits.
'Imagination.
Control.
Cage'
A cold resolve settled over her panic. 'My Sensei is the strongest. I can't allow myself to be weak!'
As Miyagawa reared back for another fire blast, he suddenly grunted, his arm jerking to a halt mid-motion.
He looked down, then up. Thin, gleaming strings were wrapped around his wrist, his elbow, his ankle, anchored to the ceiling pipes above and the broken floor grates below. He hadn't even seen her set them up in the chaos.
"Sensei said," Yuria stated, her voice cutting through the crackle of fire. She rose from behind the pillar, no longer hiding. Dozens, no, hundreds, of razor-thin strings erupted from her hands, her sleeves, even the ends of her hair, flooding the room like a spectral spider's web. They glimmered in the firelight, turning the cramped space into a lethal lattice. "In closed spaces, I am the most dangerous."
Her eyes hardened. "As always… he is right."
With a sharp yank of her fingers, the strings pulled taut. Miyagawa was violently wrenched off his feet, slammed into one wall, then whipped across the room into the opposite wall with bone-jarring force. He was a puppet, and Yuria held all the strings. Each impact drove the breath from his lungs, disorienting him completely.
"Mimiko! NOW!" Yuria shouted, her arms trembling from the strain of holding the struggling, flame-wreathed man.
"On it!" Mimiko sprang from behind the counter, her doll held high. She looped the noose around its neck and pulled.
A ghostly, identical noose of cursed energy materialized in the air around Miyagawa's throat and snapped tight. He gagged, his hands flying to his neck, flames sputtering out as his concentration shattered.
"Shit! Fuckin' girls!" he rasped, thrashing wildly. With a final surge of rage, he tried to summon one last gout of flame toward Mimiko.
Yuria saw the intent. Her face a mask of pure strain, she crossed her arms in an 'X'. Every string in the room converged, wrapping around Miyagawa's limbs, torso, and head, pulling him into a rigid, spread-eagled 'T' pose in the center of the room, utterly immobilized. The forming fireball snuffed out in his palms.
He struggled, muscles bulging against the ethereal bonds, but Yuria held firm, her teeth gritted, her entire being focused on maintaining the cage. Mimiko kept pulling the noose tight, her own expression grim.
Ten seconds. Twenty. The struggle weakened. The furious light in Miyagawa's eyes dimmed, clouded over, and finally went out. His body went limp, held upright only by Yuria's strings and the noose around his neck.
They waited, frozen, for another half-minute, hearts pounding. No movement. No breath.
Yuria slowly, carefully, released her strings. They dissolved into motes of light. The body slumped to the floor in a heap.
The moment the tension broke, the reality of what she had done crashed down. Yuria's hands flew to her mouth as a violent, visceral wave of nausea overwhelmed her. She doubled over, retching onto the soot-stained floor, tears of shock and horror mixing with the sweat on her face.
Hana crept out from behind the counter, her face pale. She stared at the lifeless form, then at her vomiting friend and the shaken twin. "Is… is he…?" she whispered, unable to finish.
Mimiko, who had seen more death following Geto, still looked unsettled. Seeing Yuria's breakdown and Hana's shock, she knew they couldn't stay here. She stepped forward, placing a hand on Yuria's trembling back and another on Hana's arm.
"Let's leave," Mimiko said softly, her voice firm but not unkind. "Now."
She guided the two traumatized sorcerers away from the burning room, leaving the silent aftermath of their first lethal battle behind