The tension in the center of Shono City reached its peak.
Mahito grinned. He bent his knees, ready to dash forward and attack Calibur. But his instincts as a curse screamed danger. He could tell that if he tried to touch that armor directly, he would be the one at a disadvantage.
His gaze suddenly shifted to the side, landing on Chisaki, who still looked exhausted.
"In that case… I'll start with that girl!"
Mahito shot forward at a speed almost impossible for normal human eyes to follow. His target was clear, Chisaki.
Calibur reacted immediately, swinging Kurayami toward Mahito. But before he could take a step, a short figure dropped in front of him.
"Your opponent is me, tin man!" Jogo shouted.
Jogo thrust both palms toward Calibur's chest. Instantly, massive flames as hot as volcanic lava burst out, forming a wall of fire that swallowed Calibur's vision. The heat was so intense the asphalt beneath them began to melt.
"Akashi-kun!" Chisaki shouted. She tried to raise her sword, but her arms felt heavy from exhaustion. Yuji and Masachika were in the same state.
Mahito was already just inches away from Chisaki.
But right before his fingers could touch her, a flash of silver light appeared from the glass window of a nearby shop.
SRAAKK!
A razor-sharp metal fin shot out from the Mirror World through the glass. In one precise horizontal motion, it sliced off Mahito's wrist.
"What?!" Mahito's eyes widened in shock.
Before he could react, a massive red manta ray-like mechanical monster, Evildiver, fully emerged from the mirror. With tremendous momentum, it spun midair and slammed its whip-like tail straight into Mahito's face, sending the cursed spirit crashing into a building wall across the street.
Evildiver hovered low in front of Chisaki, Yuji, and Masachika.
Even while engulfed in flames, Calibur swung Kurayami toward Jogo, forcing him back.
Jogo frowned, staring at the red flying creature. "That thing… is that his cursed technique?"
Calibur dashed toward Masachika, grabbed his collar, and threw him toward a glass surface, pulling him into the Mirror World. Yuji and Chisaki were brought in as well.
Mahito crawled out of the rubble, his movements twitchy. His severed hand regenerated instantly, but the grin on his face was gone, replaced with anger.
"Damn it…" he spat. "My prey…"
Jogo stood beside him, his single eye fixed on the glass, now reflecting only the empty street.
"A technique that allows passage through mirrors, with strange creatures inside… troublesome," he thought.
---
A few blocks away, Ogami sprinted at full speed, his armor covered in a yellow aura to boost his speed.
"Still too slow," Buster muttered as he pulled out the Wonder Ride Book Jack and the Beanstalk.
"Jackun to Domamenoki!"
"Mysterious story of a boy who, by chance, obtained a small bean that grew into a giant tree!"
He inserted it into Dogouken Gekido and pressed the button.
"Jackun to Domamenoki! Ittou ryodan! Butta gire! Dogou dogou dogouken Gekido! Gekido juuhan! The absolute armored large sword delivers a mighty blow from the north!"
A bluish-green beanstalk wrapped around his left arm. He thrust his hand to the ground, growing a massive beanstalk, then rode it toward Ace's location at high speed.
---
Back to Calibur.
Jogo gave him no time to breathe. He rushed forward again, attacking from behind Mahito, whose left arm had transformed into a sharp blade.
"Take this!"
He unleashed an even larger and hotter blast of fire at point-blank range.
Calibur leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the flames that melted the concrete below. But from the side, Mahito seized the opening and slashed.
CLANG!
Calibur blocked with Ankokuken Kurayami.
Mahito winced and pulled back. "Ah… that sword… it's burning," he muttered. The part of his arm that touched Kurayami looked scorched by its holy power.
The battle intensified.
Calibur continued parrying their combined attacks, supported by Evildiver, which occasionally dived to disrupt Jogo's movements.
Seeing how hard Calibur was to take down, Jogo placed his hand on a building wall behind him.
"Die!"
Two small volcano-like craters formed, ready to erupt.
Calibur pressed a button on Kurayami.
"UNCOVER THE DARKSIDE"
A circular wave of darkness slashed out, destroying the craters before they could erupt.
Suddenly, Hanami moved.
It extended its hand to the ground, summoning dozens of massive wooden roots. But instead of targeting Calibur, they spread elsewhere.
The roots were intercepted by a giant beanstalk that suddenly burst from the asphalt.
BOOM!
Buster appeared from behind it, leaping high and swinging Dogouken Gekido at Hanami. Hanami dodged, the massive blade smashing into the ground and cracking the street.
Hanami retreated, regrouping with Mahito and Jogo. The three special-grade curses now stood side by side, watching the two Sword of Logos knights cautiously.
Calibur stepped beside Buster. "You took your time, Ogami-san," he said flatly.
Buster snorted, resting Gekido on his shoulder. "Try running in armor this heavy sometime, Ace. Where are they? Those kids?"
"In a safe place," Calibur replied.
Jogo warned Mahito, "Don't touch their armor or swords. They're filled with positive energy. They're the worst opponents for curses."
"I already know that," Mahito replied, pulling something out and tossing it forward. "If I can't touch them, these will."
Dozens of Transfigured Humans appeared.
Buster frowned behind his helmet. "What the hell are those disgusting things…" He raised his sword. "Calibur, I'll handle the plant monster and the skinny one. You deal with those things and the one-eyed guy."
"Fine," Calibur replied.
Calibur swung his arm. A mirror appeared, and Venosnaker burst out, immediately attacking the Transfigured Humans.
With acidic poison blasts and powerful tail strikes, it tore through them.
Meanwhile, Buster stomped his foot, activating the beanstalk's power. Roots shot up beneath Hanami and Mahito.
Hanami struggled to counter with its own wood.
Buster charged Mahito. "Special-grade curses, huh? Since you slipped past the jujutsu sorcerers, I'll wipe you out myself!"
Mahito dodged repeatedly, unable to approach due to the relentless roots. "You're really annoying, you tin can!"
On the other side, Calibur engaged Jogo, cutting through every fireball.
At close range, Jogo realized something. Against a weapon user, make them drop their weapon.
He ducked under a slash and grabbed Calibur's wrist, applying intense heat Trying to force Calibur to let go of his sword.
Calibur tried to break free by striking Jogo, but Jogo blocked it with one of his hands.
Venosnaker, having finished devouring all the transfigured humans, lunged at Jogo with its mouth wide open. Seeing this, Jogo had no choice but to dodge, so he released Calibur and avoided Venosnaker's attack.
"Tch." Jogo clicked his tongue.
Calibur rubbed his wrist. 'That was close.'
On the other side of the battlefield, Buster was going wild. Despite his body being clad in heavy armor, each swing of Dogouken Gekido generated shockwaves that shattered the asphalt around him. Hanami tried to restrain Buster's movement by growing a forest of thorns from underground, but Buster's roots instead coiled around Hanami's wood, creating a clash between cursed plants and magical vegetation.
"Die, curse!" Buster roared as he swung horizontally.
Mahito leapt nimbly, transforming his legs into powerful wings to glide through the air, staying out of reach of the massive blade.
"Wow, this old man is really noisy, huh?" Mahito grinned as he landed on one of Hanami's wooden branches and turned his arm into a drill.
He shot down toward Buster, but Buster only snorted. His left arm, wrapped in the beanstalk, slammed into the ground, causing a giant bean pod to burst out and explode right in front of Mahito's face.
BOOM!
'Ugh!' Mahito was blown backward, his face partially destroyed but quickly regenerating.
Hanami didn't stay idle. Taking advantage of the opening, it fired cursed flower buds that drained energy toward Buster. Buster immediately spun his massive sword like a propeller, slicing the buds apart.
Jogo, who was fighting Calibur, tried to assist Hanami by launching Ember Insects, fiery creatures that exploded as they flew toward Buster's back.
"Venosnaker!" Calibur gave a short command.
The giant purple serpent shot forward, intercepting the fiery insects with blasts of acidic poison in midair. Explosion after explosion lit up the night sky of Shono City.
"Your opponent is me, One-Eye," Calibur said coldly. He pressed the button on Kurayami, darkness beginning to surge from the blade of his sword.
"UNCOVER THE DARKSIDE, EXPLICATING SLASH."
Calibur swung his sword downward, releasing a powerful purple slash.
Jogo leapt to the side to dodge, while Hanami and Mahito immediately jumped back, regrouping at the same spot as Jogo.
Buster stood firmly beside Calibur, resting his massive sword on his shoulder. "They're planning something, Ace. Get ready."
Calibur simply nodded in understanding.
"Hanami, Mahito, I'll handle this. Distract them," Jogo said, starting to feel pressured as he brought his hands together.
Seeing that, Calibur shouted, "Ogami-san!"
"I know, no need to shout!" Buster replied, planting his sword into the asphalt and bringing his hands together.
Hanami attacked with its wood to disrupt Buster, but Calibur wouldn't allow it.
"UNCOVER THE DARKSIDE, EXPLICATING SLASH."
Calibur swung his blade, cutting through the wooden attacks.
The attack cleared the path.
Then
"DOMAIN EXPANSION!" x2.