The air around the ruined station grew unnaturally still. The fluorescent lights flickered, casting fractured streaks of shadows across the cracked tiles. Reiji's breath came shallow as he stared into the gloom ahead.
Out from the shroud of darkness stepped a giant of a man. His frame eclipsed the station's dim lighting; tall, broad, and impossibly composed. The pale glow revealed a lean, sculpted body wrapped in a rough, weather-worn loin cloth and draped with the hide of some enormous beast. Bone beads clattered faintly in his braids as he walked. The sound rhythmic… almost primal.
His gait was slow and deliberate, every step radiating confidence, arrogance even. He exuded no trace of cursed energy. And yet, the weight of his presence made the air itself feel heavier.
Reiji's muscles stiffened instinctively.
Geto's eyes narrowed.
Gojo tilted his head slightly, intrigued.
The stranger, M'khoro, paused under the flickering light, eyes glinting like shards of obsidian.
Then, without warning... he vanished.
Wind shrieked.
In the blink of an eye, M'khoro was upon them.
Reiji barely raised his arms before a crushing blow slammed into his chest. The sheer force sent him hurtling across the platform. His body crashed through a wall, and a loud crack echoed as both his forearms shattered under the impact.
He gasped sharply, pain searing through him as he hit the ground. Blood dripped from his arms, bone fragments pushing against his skin.
"Reiji!" Geto shouted, but he had no time to react further.
A blur crossed his vision; M'khoro's massive hand swung sideways. The bone gauntlet around his arm gleamed faintly before the blow landed square across Geto's face. The impact sent him flying into a broken column. The sound of splintering concrete echoed across the station.
Then came a third strike, aimed directly at Gojo's abdomen.
But the blow, despite carrying monstrous power, stopped dead in its tracks.
A faint wave rippled through the air Gojo brought forth the concept of infinity into reality. The man's enormous fist hovered centimetres from his stomach, unable to advance further.
M'khoro froze for the briefest moment, eyes narrowing. His brow furrowed, confusion flashing across his otherwise impassive face.
Gojo smiled nervously. "Oh? You weren't expecting that, huh?"
The giant withdrew his fist slightly, studying the invisible barrier between them. Then he launched another blow, faster. And then another. Each punch stopped mid-swing, the sound of compressed air ringing like muffled bursts.
Gojo's grin widened. "Nice gauntlets. Will not be enough to hand a hit though."
M'khoro's expression didn't shift, but his next punch cracked the tiles beneath them from sheer force.
Reiji, breathing heavily, forced his broken arms to mend. Reverse cursed technique glowed faintly beneath his skin, bones knitting back together. He pushed himself to his feet and called out hoarsely, "What in the world is going on?"
Gojo smirked. "You still standing? Good… come on join the fun."
As M'khoro lunged again, Gojo sidestepped with almost playful grace, his Infinity absorbing the brute's momentum. Geto had already recovered enough to summon his curses, inky shadows rippled from his sleeves as winged, skeletal shikigami darted forward to harass the enemy. Several others followed.
The curses attacked from multiple angles, clawing and biting. Yet, M'khoro continued moved like a tempest; every movement smooth yet devastating. His fists tore through the air, shattering curses with raw force. Yet, something about his strikes seemed almost controlled, as though he was still holding back.
Reiji finally rejoined the fray. He flicked his wrists outward, and from within his robes, two crimson whips uncoiled like serpents, gleaming red under the light.
Geto's eyes widened slightly. "When did he-?"
Reiji's cursed energy surged. The whips hissed as blood flowed through their channels, glimmering faintly like veins of molten metal. With a sharp crack, he lashed forward.
The whip sliced through the air, striking at M'khoro's flank. The impact barely slowed him, but it created an opening for Geto's curses to bind his legs momentarily.
Gojo grinned. "Nice rhythm, Kamo!"
Reiji smirked faintly, spinning his second whip in a circular motion to keep distance. The trios' attacks were starting to sync. "Don't get comfortable, Gojo!"
The battle erupted into a chaotic dance of energy and motion.
Gojo handled close defence; his Infinity acting as an impenetrable wall every time M'khoro drew too near.
Geto wove in and out, using his curses to distract, bind, and confuse their monstrous opponent.
And Reiji held the mid-range with his whips.
Slowly, their rhythm synced further.
M'khoro's brows drew together as he deflected a curse, only for a whip to snap hard against his chest. Then a pressure wave from Gojo's Blue slammed him backward into a wall.
The station shook from the impact. Dust and debris rained down.
Gojo exhaled slowly, smiling. "Man, you hit hard for someone who doesn't talk much."
He had noticed that there was something weird going on with their primal foes bone gauntlets.
'There is a strange curse woven into it.' Gojo thought.
He didn't have time to warn the others. M'khoro twisted his torso sharply and launched forward. The gauntlets flared dimly: and the air around Gojo seemed to distort for a split second before the titan appeared right in front of him.
Gojo blocked again, but this time, the impact made him skid backward. Infinity flickered momentarily as his expression turned sharp. "Well, that's new."
Geto darted in, his curses forming a thick curtain of smoke-like constructs. He struck low, aiming for the giant's knees, but M'khoro moved like a predator. His backhand shattered the summoned creatures like glass.
Geto barely avoided the follow-up strike as the shockwave alone sent him tumbling backward. "Is he… absorbing impact through those gauntlets?" he shouted out loud.
Reiji yelled back.
"I think they are nullifying the recoil."
Reiji flicked his whip to intercept the next strike. Sparks flew as the crimson cord coiled around M'khoro's arm. He pulled hard, dragging the giant slightly off-balance while Geto's curses lunged again.
Still, M'khoro didn't speak. He fought in absolute silence. His breathing was steady, and his eyes were cold and concentrated.
"Why aren't you saying anything!?" Geto shouted mid-swing. "Who the hell are you!?"
No response. Only the rush of wind and the echo of fists that followed.
Gojo clenched his fists. "Guess we're not his type."
Reiji cracked his whips again, stepping forward to close the distance. "He is not using modern fighting techniques. His form is very primitive…"
He ducked under a sweeping kick, countering with a lash across M'khoro's back.
Reiji then spoke in a voice laced with dread, "And his attire is also strange…"
Geto's eyes widened at that, exchanging a nervous glance with Gojo. "You're saying he's-?"
"An ancient sorcerer," Reiji finished grimly. "Which means more trouble for us."
Reiji then adopted and aggressive stance and started putting more force behind the whips. Soon a familiar pain started to crawl up his head. It was Akame.
'Not this again…' Reiji cursed internally.
As his enhanced vision and his ordinary vision clashed Reiji had no choice but to fight through the dizziness.
Suddenly the world dimmed a little, as if wanting to give way to another illusion. Reiji felt the same deadly premonition forcing its way into his consciousness. But there was no illusion. A single name echoed in his mind.
Shoko.
His breathing deteriorated as realization hit him.
He was not sure how or why but Shoko was in danger.
"I need to get to Shoko!" Reiji blurted out.
The name hung heavy in the air.
Gojo's grin faded slightly. Ultimately, he chose to trust his fellow classmate's instinct. "Right… you should go and find her, Kamo. We'll hold this guy off."
Reiji hesitated. His gut screamed against leaving them, but the ominous premonition loomed in his head. "Fine. I'll find her and report all this to the elders."
Before he could move, M'khoro's body tensed suddenly. He charged again, much faster than before. His gauntlets gleamed ominously as the entire platform quaked under his step.
Reiji turned, eyes flashing. "Guess I'm not leaving yet."
The titan closed in.
Gojo unleashed Blue, collapsing space in front of M'khoro and dragging debris toward him, but the man broke through the distortion with sheer force. Geto's curses swarmed from behind, clawing at his back. Reiji's whips lashed across the man's torso in synchronized rhythm.
Then a sudden clarity struck.
A window in M'khoro's defense opened for a split second.
"Now!" Reiji muttered.
He leapt forward, blood flaring around his arms. The whips recoiled around his forearms, coiling tight until they formed crimson gauntlets that pulsed like living veins.
Cursed energy converged, glowing violently.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Crimson burst!"
Reiji's fist connected with M'khoro's torso and the blood within the whip channels erupted outward in a blinding flash of ionized energy.
The resulting explosion shattered the ground. A shockwave of steam and crimson lightning tore through the platform.
When the dust cleared, M'khoro's massive frame was gone; flung deep into the rubble of the far wall.
Reiji stumbled back, panting heavily, his arms smoking from the recoil. "That should… slow him down."
Gojo and Geto stood ready, watching the rubble cautiously.
"Go," Geto ordered without looking back. "We'll deal with this guy if he gets up."
Reiji hesitated once more, then nodded. "Don't die."
He turned and sprinted out of the ruined station, the echo of his footsteps fading into the distance.
For a long moment, silence hung over the ruins.
Then there was movement.
From within the shattered wall, M'khoro rose. His torso was torn open, ribs cracked, viscera spilling freely. Yet his face was utterly calm, eyes unflinching.
Geto's mouth went dry. "That hit landed. He actually hurt him."
Gojo's usual smirk faded entirely. "Yeah," he said quietly. "But look at him now."
Before their eyes, the torn flesh began to knit itself back together. Muscles twitched, and bones realigned as the glow of Reverse Cursed Technique spread across his body like molten gold.
Geto's jaw tightened. "He can heal too…?"
Gojo cracked his knuckles, eyes narrowing as the titan straightened to his full height.
"Well," he muttered, voice low and edged with excitement. "Guess playtime's over."
The air grew heavy once again… and the battle resumed.