Chapter 188: A Huge Advantage
Todo Joi's sudden move left the Simurian warrior—who had been just about to finish off the curse—completely dumbfounded.
Where… where did the curse go?!
BOOM!!
With the crash of Todo's fist, the remaining Special-Grade curse was claimed by the sorcerers' side.
The score immediately shifted.
The jujutsu sorcerers' total surged past seventy points, while the Simurian team remained at fifty.
Though the match wasn't technically decided yet, the advantage was now overwhelmingly in Earth's favor.
More importantly—
The Simurian team was now down one combatant.
"Finally… you guys showed up," Zen'in Kaon said, exhaling deeply.
"I was this close to burning myself out."
She raised a hand and dismissed the Merged Beast in the distance.
After this fight, she truly understood what people meant when they said potential is something you're forced to squeeze out under pressure.
"The timing was perfect," Todo said cheerfully as he joined them.
"We even skipped the whole 'fight the Special-Grade curse' part."
He turned to the Simurian warrior holding the long blade, gave a thumbs-up, and said earnestly:
"Thanks, alien warrior. Quick question—what kind of girls do you like?"
The Simurian warrior froze.
"…What kind of girls?"
He scratched his head, actually thinking about it.
"Uh… maybe someone petite… gentle… cute?"
Then he suddenly snapped back to reality.
"Wait—what does that have to do with you?! Don't try to distract me! You haven't won yet!"
"I see…"
Todo slowly looked up at the sky, tears streaming dramatically from his eyes, his expression full of sorrow.
"So even aliens… cannot become my best friends?"
"Father," he murmured solemnly,
"when will I finally find a kindred spirit… like you once did?"
"…Uh," someone muttered nearby.
"What's wrong with this guy?"
Kaon watched Todo Joi's bizarre behavior with a puzzled expression and quietly asked Kamo Oka beside her,
"What's wrong with him?"
"Don't worry about it," Kamo replied calmly, as if this were nothing unusual.
"His thought process doesn't operate on the same wavelength as normal people."
After three years as classmates, he had long since developed immunity to Todo's personality.
"Right now, the advantage is ours," Kusakabe Zetsu said as he walked over, gripping his sword. His gaze landed on the Simurian warrior who was also wielding a blade.
"I'll take care of him. You guys focus on exorcising the curses."
That alien swordsman looked… simple-minded. Probably manageable.
If Kusakabe just sparred lightly and stalled, his teammates should be able to secure the win without trouble.
Boom!!
A brilliant flash erupted in the distance, followed by a violent tremor of the ground.
Zen'in Kaon clicked her tongue.
"Looks like Kamui and Kaguya's fights aren't ending anytime soon."
"Then exorcising the curses falls to us," she said.
Both Gojō Kamui and Okkotsu Kaguya were facing Simurian's top-tier warriors—opponents comparable to Special Grade sorcerers and proficient in Reverse Cursed Technique.
The fact that two fifteen-year-olds could even hold their ground against such enemies was already proof of overwhelming talent.
"You're not getting past me!"
Yuno, battered and disheveled, stepped in front of Kaon, her eyes burning with resolve.
Though the situation had turned against her, she refused to give up. Two versus four wasn't impossible.
A Simurian warrior fought until the very last moment.
She slammed both palms into the ground.
Instantly, rocks and sand levitated into the air, condensing into dozens of razor-sharp arrows aimed straight at Kaon and the others.
Kaon glanced at Kamo Oka and Todo.
"How about this—I'll hold her here. You two go exorcise the curses."
"Sounds good," Kamo replied without hesitation, already sprinting toward the forest.
"I'm not interested in women shorter than me," Todo muttered, disappointed.
He had wanted to bond with the aliens, but none of them qualified as his best friend.
Maybe I should ask the others what kind of girls they like…
With that thought, his figure vanished in a flash.
Once the roles were set, Kaon turned back to Yuno.
"Let's continue where we left off."
"Hmph! Don't celebrate too early—the match isn't over yet!"
Yuno snorted coldly, sending the stone arrows hurtling forward.
Kaon weaved through the barrage, dodging at high speed as she closed the distance.
Even so, the density was overwhelming—several arrows grazed her, leaving shallow cuts.
Still, she reached Yuno.
She leapt high into the air, her small fist swinging down, muscles sharply defined beneath her skin.
Yuno remained calm. Her forehead eye flared as the earth in front of her surged upward, forming a thick earthen wall.
"You think that'll stop me?"
Kaon's gaze sharpened. Cursed energy exploded around her fist as she punched forward.
BOOOOM—!!
The wall shattered instantly, as if crushed by a mountain.
The shockwave cracked the surrounding ground into spiderweb patterns and blasted Yuno backward.
"How is that possible?!"
Before Yuno could finish her thought, Kaon was already beside her.
Her fist opened into a palm, chopping cleanly into Yuno's neck.
Smack!
A violent shock surged through Yuno's nervous system, and she collapsed unconscious.
Kaon checked her breathing, then relaxed slightly.
"Good… I held back."
Another layer of power, and it might've been fatal.
She glanced at the score display on her wrist.
Earth: 90 points.
Simurian: 50 points.
Just eleven more points to secure victory.
Feeling the tension lift, Kaon decided to check on Ria's situation. The others could handle themselves now.
---
At the same time, Kaon had no idea that the Mahoraga she summoned was driving Boses to the brink of madness.
BOOM!!
On another battlefield, Boses stood bare-chested, black markings blazing across his body.
The twin black horns on his head compressed enormous cursed energy into a dark-red beam that twisted space itself as it blasted toward Mahoraga.
The attack punched a massive hole through Mahoraga's body, leaving only its head and lower half intact.
Yet in the next instant, multicolored light surged across Mahoraga's form.
Its shattered body regenerated completely—larger, denser, and somehow even more oppressive than before.
"..."
Boses fell silent.
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