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Geto straightened up, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "I know…" he replied, catching his breath. He fixed his gaze on Kenjaku, his eyes shining with pure jubilation. "It's just that… I can't help myself. To fool a millennia-old genius… to stand face-to-face with the great Kenjaku himself and manipulate him so easily… it's simply fantastic."
Kenjaku's smile faded, his brows furrowing slightly.
But before he could process it, Geto's woman stepped forward with swift precision.
Kenjaku didn't waste a second. His hand dove into his robes and pulled out several scrolls. In an instant, they unfurled, releasing black chains that snapped through the air like enraged serpents.
The woman leapt back with near-supernatural agility, barely evading the chains that smashed violently into the ground. But by the time she recovered, Kenjaku had already taken advantage of the distraction. He bolted toward the decrepit structure looming behind him—the abandoned cinema.
Geto sighed, scratching his head, though his amused smile remained. "Ah, just when I was starting to have fun, he runs away…" He shrugged, turning toward the woman. "But if I keep playing with him, I'll end up ruining everything."
He shifted his gaze toward Uraume, who, despite her injuries, was already forcing herself back up, breath ragged.
"You deal with Uraume," he said to his companion.
She nodded, a cold smile on her lips.
As for Geto, he calmly strolled toward the cinema's main entrance.
He stopped just outside, casting one last glance back at the scene behind him. "I really need to finish this before he shows up." Then he stepped inside.
A mocking laugh echoed through the cinema's dark hall. Hands in his pockets, Geto wore a crooked grin as he walked forward at a leisurely pace.
"Running off like a thief in the night… really, Kenjaku, you disappoint me. I thought you'd have more courage…"
In the main theater, where the dust-covered giant screen still loomed over rows of ruined seats, Kenjaku stood tall, his piercing gaze fixed on him.
"Who are you?" Kenjaku asked in a low, grave tone.
Geto raised an eyebrow, then burst out laughing.
"Oh no… don't tell me inhabiting an old man's body has made you deaf!" he scoffed, shaking his head. "Well, since I'm such a gentleman, allow me to reintroduce myself…"
He was about to give an exaggerated bow when, suddenly, an invisible force slammed down on him like a celestial hammer.
A deafening crash echoed through the building. The ground beneath Geto cracked instantly, exploding into a gaping crater. His body was crushed violently against the floor, his legs sinking into the stone as if a titanic weight pinned him down. He couldn't move. Couldn't even breathe.
Above him, Kenjaku towered, his expression darker than ever.
"I have no desire for an anomaly like you meddling in my affairs," he declared coldly. "Disappear."
The pressure doubled, the ground collapsing beneath Geto as though dragged into a cosmic void. All around, the theater shook, chunks of the ceiling crashing down with thunderous noise.
But just when all seemed lost, something strange happened.
Kenjaku narrowed his eyes.
Geto was rising.
Slowly. Calmly. As though the crushing force meant nothing to him.
Beneath his feet, the ground continued to collapse, yet he floated steadily in the void. A playful smile spread across his face as he lifted his eyes to Kenjaku.
"Really, old man… is that all you've got?"
Kenjaku moved in a flash, but it was already too late. Geto had vanished from sight. A violent crash detonated behind him. The ground split beneath the sheer force of Geto's movement, seats exploding into the air like twigs caught in a storm.
Before Kenjaku could turn, a fist hurtled toward his face. Yet despite the surprise, panic never reached him. His body reacted on instinct. He raised his arm, catching the blow with a firm block. The impact boomed like thunder, the shockwave rattling the theater's structure and kicking up a choking cloud of dust.
Kenjaku gave Geto no time to recover. With a sharp motion, he swept his arm aside, breaking his opponent's guard, and in the same movement, he struck Geto's throat with the edge of his hand. The impact thudded deep, forcing Geto to choke and stagger back, clutching his neck with a pained grimace.
Kenjaku flowed behind him with terrifying fluidity. In a powerful tackle, he struck from the rear, breaking his balance. Without hesitation, he followed with a surgical elbow strike. His forearm smashed into Geto's face with such force that he was hurled backward, his feet skimming the ground before he crashed into a broken seat.
But as Kenjaku prepared to land the finishing blow, a shiver of alarm jolted down his spine. Instinctively, he leapt back, putting several meters between them in a flash.
A heartbeat later, the reason became clear.
A thick, oppressive black energy seeped from Geto's body like living smoke. It spread rapidly, swallowing the room in a suffocating darkness.
Kenjaku immediately flared his cursed energy, wrapping it tightly around himself like an invisible armor. Just in time.
For Geto's dark power erupted, annihilating everything in its path. The ground split deep, the walls quaked as if ready to collapse at any moment. The ceiling cracked apart, slabs of concrete crashing down in a deafening roar.
And at the heart of the chaos, Geto rose. Slowly.
His smile stretched wider, sinister, as his eyes locked on Kenjaku.
"You really should stop underestimating me, old man."
He cracked his knuckles casually, still wearing that amused grin. He seemed oddly calm, almost detached. And before Kenjaku's disbelieving eyes, his wounds began to heal—not slowly, but instantly. His skin sealed itself, bruises vanished, as though they had never been there.
Kenjaku clenched his fists.
"Honestly, it's a shame," Geto said lightly.
"What's a shame?"
Geto shrugged.
"That I'm in a hurry."
Kenjaku said nothing, but he didn't like the way this fight was turning. He steadied his stance, feet firmly planted, cursed energy intensifying around him. Geto, meanwhile, watched him with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Then, with unsettling nonchalance, he asked: "Tell me… do you really think you're safe behind your barrier?"
A cold chill ran down Kenjaku's spine. His barrier?
He didn't understand what Geto meant. His shield of cursed energy was perfectly stable. Built to be impenetrable. A flawless defense against any direct attack. As long as the barrier's structure held, Geto couldn't touch him. That was fact.
So why ask that question?
Kenjaku muttered, "You're the anomaly responsible for the surge in curses, aren't you?"
"An anomaly, me?" Geto echoed, raising an eyebrow as though he'd just heard the most absurd thing in the world. "Come now, I don't know what you're talking about."
Then his grin widened.
"But anyway… let's finish this."