"Rika!"
Okkotsu roared, struggling to stand up despite the pain, raising his cursed tool katana once more as pale blue Cursed Energy gathered around his body.
He knew that Geto Suguru, while appearing composed, had begun to take things seriously; that bitter smile from a moment ago was more like a declaration of resolve.
Geto glanced back at the rising Okkotsu. The calm expression returned to his face, though a hint of coldness lingered in his eyes:
"Since you know, then hurry up and stop me. Otherwise, if this continues, both you and your companions will die by my hands."
Facing Geto's mockery, Okkotsu pointed the blade of his cursed tool katana at his chest, the pale blue Cursed Energy on the blade still trembling slightly.
Rika's concerned call reached his ears, her pale pink Cursed Energy wrapping around Okkotsu like a silent guardian.
Okkotsu smiled back at Rika, his voice firm:
"Don't worry, Rika. I can keep up with his rhythm now."
Before the words even faded, Okkotsu shot forward like an arrow from a bow!
Violent Cursed Energy exploded beneath his feet, his speed more than double what it had been before, carving a faint trail through the air.
Geto's eyes flashed with surprise, and he couldn't help but exclaim:
"Even faster..."
He flipped his wrist, and playful cloud struck toward Okkotsu like a snake, but in the next second, Okkotsu's figure vanished.
It wasn't a Cursed Technique displacement; it was pure speed that had surpassed Geto's predictions!
"Behind you!"
Geto reacted abruptly, but just as he started to turn, he sensed a fierce fluctuation of Cursed Energy behind him.
Okkotsu had appeared behind him, his cursed tool katana flooded with violent Cursed Energy, the blade glowing with a blinding blue light due to the overload, slashing viciously toward his back!
"Clang!"
Geto turned, and playful cloud barely blocked the strike. The collision of the Cursed Tools erupted with a deafening sound.
However, the Cursed Energy Okkotsu had injected was too overwhelming. With a "crack," the Cursed Tool in his hand shattered into fragments, and the flying metal shards scratched the back of his hand.
"Has no one ever taught you?"
Geto used the recoil to step back, his tone carrying his usual mockery:
"Injecting too much Cursed Energy at once will—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw black lightning suddenly erupt from Okkotsu's palm!
The lightning tore through the air with a sound, even faster and more violent than the Cursed Tool attack.
Geto's pupils contracted. He wanted to mobilize his Cursed Energy to defend, but it was too late—Okkotsu's fist, crackling with lightning, slammed heavily into his face!
"Bang!"
The immense force sent Geto flying backward like a broken kite, crashing heavily to the ground, his black and red Cursed Energy appearing momentarily chaotic.
He propped himself up to sit, his eyes looking clearer than before. He stared blankly at the sky, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth:
"You've got skills..."
"I don't understand!"
Okkotsu suddenly roared, his eyes reddening, black lightning still dancing on his palms:
"Aside from the Jujutsu Sorcerers at Jujutsu High, I don't know any other Jujutsu Sorcerers! You say humans are weak and that Jujutsu Sorcerers should rule the world—I really don't understand if that's right or not! I just want to keep being friends with everyone and live a good life with Rika!"
He slowly lifted his head, looking at the standing Geto, his voice filled with pleading:
"I can feel it, you don't want to kill me at all! I don't know what you're trying to do, but please, just leave... If this keeps going, I really will kill you!"
Geto remained silent, the mockery on his face fading, his expression becoming complex.
There was gratification, regret, and a trace of imperceptible exhaustion.
But when he saw the determination in Okkotsu's eyes, a look of relief suddenly bloomed on his face, as if he had laid down a heavy burden:
"It's meaningless to say these things now."
He stood straight, black and red Cursed Energy surging around him, and countless phantoms of Cursed Spirits appeared behind him.
Low-grade Cursed Spirits, mid-grade Cursed Spirits, and even the silhouettes of Special Grade Cursed Spirits surged and churned, eventually converging into a massive black vortex that exuded a suffocating pressure.
"Okkotsu, if you want to protect your friends, use every ounce of your power."
Geto's voice carried unprecedented solemnity:
"Because from here on out, I won't hold back anymore. I will combine the five thousand three hundred Cursed Spirits I currently possess, plus two Special Grade Cursed Spirits, and use them all to blast you away."
"Cursed Spirit Manipulation: Maximum Vortex!"
The black vortex grew larger, almost shrouding half the battlefield; the Cursed Energy churning within it was enough to destroy a city.
Okkotsu watched this scene and finally made up his mind.
Images flashed through his mind: playing with Rika in the park as a child, Rika blocking a Cursed Spirit attack to protect him—those warm memories transformed into his most resolute strength at this moment.
Okkotsu walked toward Rika step by step. Pale pink Cursed Energy lingered around her. She looked at Okkotsu worriedly and asked softly:
"Yuta, what's wrong?"
Okkotsu didn't answer; he just gently hugged her, resting his chin on her head, his voice as gentle as a vow:
"Rika, thank you for staying with me and protecting me all these years. This is the last time. Lend me your power one more time; I must stop him."
"After this, my future, my heart, and my body—everything will be given to you. From now on... we will really be together forever. I love you, Rika."
He kissed the top of Rika's head gently.
Instantly, the pale pink Cursed Energy around Rika erupted, a hundred, a thousand times stronger than before, sweeping across the battlefield, dyeing even the air pink.
Rika Orimoto's figure became clearer within the Cursed Energy, her eyes full of love and resolve for Okkotsu as she shouted: "Yuta! Yuta! I love you so, so, so, so, so much!"
Geto stood before the black vortex, watching this scene, speechless with astonishment.
He recognized this as a Cursed Technique that "uses oneself as a sacrifice to lift Cursed Energy restrictions," a method of turning love and bonds into the strongest power.
A moment later, he smiled helplessly, the complexity in his eyes fading away, leaving only pure relief:
"To think you'd use this move... You brat, you really are glib. Being this good at coaxing people at such a young age, what will you be like when you grow up?"
"That's rude."
Okkotsu held Rika's hand, pale pink and pale blue Cursed Energy intertwining around them, forming a brilliant cocoon of light:
"We are pure love, after all."
As the words fell, the Cursed Energy gathered behind Okkotsu also transformed into a massive stream of light, facing Geto's black vortex from afar.
Two forces capable of overturning the battlefield collided above Jujutsu High.
On one side was the vortex of despair condensed from five thousand three hundred Cursed Spirits, and on the other was a stream of light forged from love and bonds. This final confrontation, concerning faith and protection, finally reached its ultimate clash.
"Then let me see just how much power your so-called pure love has."
Geto's voice carried a smile as the black vortex pushed forward violently.
Okkotsu and Rika exerted their strength simultaneously:
"We will prove it to you!"
The collision of light and darkness instantly illuminated the entire Jujutsu High battlefield.