"What did that guy do?"
Satoru lightly brushed his fingers across his forehead, and fresh red blood appeared on his long, strong fingers.
His Six Eyes carefully examined the tall figure in front of him, which stood half a head taller than Mahoraga.
It had two horns on its head, exposed fangs in its mouth, and eyes glowing with a bewitching, eerie purple malice. Wild red hair cascaded over its body like fur. It had four arms and wore a sleeveless black jacket embroidered with golden auspicious clouds, along with dark green clothing on its lower body.
"So that's it, Tsuchigumo?"
Despite being injured, Satoru laughed even more heartily.
"What, you know me?"
Tsuchigumo was in no hurry to attack. Instead, he picked up a giant pipe and took two puffs.
"Since I knew my enemy was Abe no Seimei, I naturally looked into his past."
Satoru stood still, then swept his gaze across his surroundings with battle intent.
Countless enemies had already surrounded him.
"Tsuchigumo, Abe no Seimei's strongest Shikigami. His strongest spear, who defeated countless powerful foes and was praised as an enemy one must never face."
Satoru casually recited the information he had found earlier in the Gojo family records.
"Oh, and there's also a legend about you. If Tsuchigumo is hungry, everyone must stay away, or even gods, Buddhas, ghosts, and monsters will be devoured by him. Have you really eaten gods and Buddhas? How did they taste?"
Satoru's eyes were full of curiosity.
"Hahaha, you really are interesting."
Tsuchigumo slapped his leg with his two left hands and laughed loudly.
"If you had been born in our era, you probably would have been deified too. Wasn't this guy deified by the court as some kind of Thunder God or Fire God?"
Tsuchigumo reached out and grabbed Sugawara no Michizane, who was nearby.
This action was met with thunder from the heavenly god, Sugawara no Michizane.
"Oh, my. How fierce."
The malice in Tsuchigumo's eyes grew even thicker.
"Tsuchigumo, we are allies now. Recognize your enemy."
Abe no Seimei spoke.
This caused the malice in Tsuchigumo's eyes to recede considerably.
"Sugawara-kun too. Don't stoop to the level of a Shikigami."
Kenjaku said with a smile.
"Hmph."
Sugawara no Michizane snorted coldly.
Although he was a Cursed Spirit, Sugawara no Michizane's strength had already far surpassed that of an ordinary Special Grade Cursed Spirit, even exceeding many Special Grade jujutsu sorcerers.
Therefore, his intelligence was just as high.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to seek revenge after becoming a Special Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit and be feared by people for a thousand years.
While Tsuchigumo and Sugawara no Michizane temporarily set aside their differences, Satoru continued speculating about Tsuchigumo's Cursed Technique.
'That attack just now was very strange. Although my Limitless wasn't fully activated, it was already working, so the attack should have been blocked by Limitless.'
Through his cerulean Six Eyes, not even a single hair on Tsuchigumo's four massive fists escaped his notice.
'Legend has it that Tsuchigumo is a god of destruction capable of destroying everything. Could it be...'
Satoru narrowed his eyes as a guess formed in his mind.
'Looks like I need to confirm it.'
"Hey, you over there. What's your name?"
"Satoru. What, you don't even know the name of the enemy who's about to take you down?"
Satoru said provocatively.
"Ha, you? I don't know you at all. That guy Seimei said someone named Azuma Eichi could give me a good fight, so I agreed to help him. As for you? Never heard of you."
Tsuchigumo tapped his pipe against a nearby stone.
Tsuchigumo was not lying.
Because according to the original plan, Satoru should have already been sealed by Kenjaku by now.
And his enemy was supposed to be Mahoraga.
After understanding Mahoraga's essence in their last battle, Abe no Seimei already knew that ordinary Shikigami, even those that reached Special Grade, would have difficulty posing a threat to Mahoraga.
Therefore, he chose Tsuchigumo, an existence capable of destroying everything.
According to the original plan, Tsuchigumo and Mahoraga would fight, a large number of Shikigami and Cursed Spirits would hold back the Heroic Spirits, and finally, he and Kenjaku would take Eichi's head directly.
But unexpectedly, a major change occurred at the very beginning of the plan.
This was actually similar to many dynastic rebellions.
If the court was unaware, intelligent rebels would likely gain the first-move advantage they wanted.
But once the court found out, the small rebel forces would be unable to withstand the court's heavy blow.
This was also the case for Eichi this time.
"Go, Tsuchigumo. This is an enemy worthy of your full strength."
Abe no Seimei said to Tsuchigumo.
"Alright."
A cold glint flashed in the eyes of Tsuchigumo, who loved fighting strong opponents.
The pipe was put away, and his four giant fists crackled.
"Let's go too."
Kenjaku spoke to Sugawara no Michizane, then led the several Special Grade Cursed Spirits behind him to launch the first attack.
Attacks imbued with Cursed Energy flew toward Satoru.
These attacks, which even a Grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer would not dare take head-on, were completely ignored by Satoru.
"Hmph!"
Tsuchigumo's fist slammed heavily into the Limitless in front of Satoru.
Kenjaku, Sugawara no Michizane, and the others immediately cooperated with Tsuchigumo, deploying Domain Expansion.
Satoru used Limitless with all his might, his Six Eyes fixed on Tsuchigumo's fist.
"As expected, you're not attacking me. You're attacking Limitless, aren't you?"
Satoru smiled. He had already guessed Tsuchigumo's ability.
"That's right. This is my Destruction Cursed Technique. All creation will be crushed under my iron fists, and your Cursed Technique is naturally no exception."
Tsuchigumo made no effort to hide his Cursed Technique.
After all, his Cursed Technique did not need to be hidden, nor was he afraid of being countered. Moreover, in this world, revealing one's Cursed Technique was also a form of Binding Vow, which could strengthen the effect of the technique.
Tsuchigumo's lower-left fist swung out, striking Satoru's Limitless.
Watching the approaching fist, and with Limitless on the verge of being broken through under the destruction of the four Domain Expansions and Tsuchigumo, Satoru moved.
Satoru's figure instantly vanished. The battle-hardened Tsuchigumo immediately took a step forward to stop his momentum while retracting two of his fists at the same time.
The next second, Satoru appeared directly above him.
"Here!"
Sensing Satoru's position, Tsuchigumo lifted his upper-right arm and delivered a powerful elbow strike enhanced by the Destruction Cursed Technique.
Satoru instantly vanished, reappearing below Tsuchigumo this time.
Kicking Tsuchigumo's ankle to disrupt his balance, Satoru seized the opportunity to tear off Tsuchigumo's lower-left arm.
Just then, Tsuchigumo propped one hand on the ground to stabilize himself, then quickly rotated to face Satoru in an instant.
'So large, yet so agile?'
Satoru released Tsuchigumo's arm and teleported out of the encirclement.
Bang.
The ground in the direction Satoru retreated suddenly collapsed, and dozens of fleshy tentacles enveloped him.
"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red."
The powerful repulsive force destroyed the tentacles. Satoru saw Abe no Seimei in the distance, holding the Devil King's Mallet.
"Oh light, light that purifies all, please eradicate evil, mistakes, and sorrow, and guide that person."
The moment Satoru was stopped by Abe no Seimei, an ethereal female voice came from the sky.
"Jacob's Ladder!"
A golden pillar of light descended from the sky, engulfing Satoru, who had just broken free from the tentacles.
An attack capable of destroying all Cursed Techniques struck Limitless once again.
'This feeling is very similar to Tsuchigumo's earlier. Another attack targeting Limitless!'
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)