Yu Haibara immediately moved closer to Nanami and spoke in a hushed voice, words tumbling out as quickly as possible.
"Nanami, I'll handle that stitched-face first. I might not be able to absorb its cursed energy for a while. Switch opponents in about thirty seconds. Let's eliminate that cursed spirit over there first!"
Nanami did not waste a second. He nodded immediately.
"Alright."
Saishū's first face sprouted vein-like strands that spread through his limbs. He opened both hands, and the extended portions of his arms hardened into two bone blades. Jumping down from a nearby pipe, he lunged forward.
Nanami did not take the attack head-on. He immediately retreated, widening the distance.
But Saishū's attack was not aimed at Nanami's body. Instead, the bone blade slashed viciously toward the tip of Nanami's shadow.
Kento Nanami suddenly felt as if something had been taken from him. When he noticed his concentration beginning to slip, he quickly retreated again.
[This cursed spirit's attacks are strange. I absolutely cannot let him hit my shadow again.]
Saishū pressed the advantage. With his bone blade extended, he fought like a long-weapon user, suppressing Nanami with constant reach and pressure. In close combat, length meant dominance. Once the opponent failed to defend, a single decisive strike would end it.
Nanami continuously blocked the attacks with his cursed tool dagger. Under this relentless rhythm of strikes, he barely had time to reinforce himself with cursed energy.
[To deal with this kind of pressure, I need to break his rhythm. His speed isn't impossible to handle. I'll close the distance in one move and strike that spine-like structure with my technique. That should at least disable him temporarily.]
After settling on a strategy, Kento Nanami moved with nimble footwork, retreating while gradually shifting closer to Yu Haibara's position, preparing to relay the plan and switch opponents.
But while dodging another bone blade strike, he failed to account for a shift in the lighting. The length of his shadow extended beyond the safe range, and Saishū slashed it again.
Nanami froze for a moment.
It was as if the thought of "attacking Saishū" had vanished from his mind.
"I've erased your will to fight. How will a human who has lost their fighting spirit deal with a curse..."
Saishū's first face stared at Kento Nanami like a scientist observing an experiment. As he wiped his bone blade clean, he slowly approached.
But in that instant, Kento Nanami seized the opportunity.
His fingers curled into a fist as he drove a punch straight into Saishū's abdomen. The strike carried the expanded technique of the [Ratio Technique]. With a burst of wind, the blow slammed into Saishū's exposed bones, shattering nearly half of his ribs.
"People don't necessarily need fighting spirit to fight. And they certainly don't have to reflect on life during a battle. I will take responsibility for this mission, and I will complete my work."
Though Nanami spoke calmly, his expression was grim as he rapidly retreated to Yu Haibara's side.
[Even my strongest attack only caused this level of damage. A simple cut won't be enough. I'll need a more efficient strike to break through his outer defenses. I'll wait for Haibara and attack together.]
Kento Nanami first struck Mahito from behind while Mahito was dodging Yu Haibara's attack. Then he immediately moved beside Yu Haibara, pulled out his phone, and sent the message he had prepared earlier.
After that, he tapped Yu Haibara's shadow.
There was no time to explain. This was the only way he could signal him.
Realizing Saishū's ability was connected to shadows, Yu Haibara gave a firm nod.
The two successfully switched opponents. Yu Haibara used the brief window to digest the cursed energy he had absorbed from Mahito, while Kento Nanami engaged the now-weakened Mahito.
This gave Yu Haibara a precious moment to recover his breath.
But just as Kento Nanami began clashing with Mahito, Yu Haibara suddenly realized Saishū had disappeared from sight.
[Did he run? …Impossible. Whether it's cursed energy or information advantage, they clearly have the upper hand. That four-faced cursed spirit also didn't join the stitched-face to attack Nanami… Could he be invisible?!]
Even though Yu Haibara's thoughts moved quickly, he was still a moment too late.
A long, narrow bone blade suddenly pierced out through his abdomen, spraying fresh blood.
"Not invisible. You simply lost sight of me."
As a veteran Grade 1 sorcerer, Yu Haibara reacted instantly. He reinforced his internal organs with cursed energy, then triggered a burst of cursed energy behind himself, blasting his body backward and pulling free from the bone blade before it could tear him open further.
"This kind of injury is nothing…"
Yu Haibara grinned as if he felt no pain from the piercing wound and immediately activated Reverse Cursed Technique to heal.
"It didn't heal?!"
The wound refused to close. Even tightening the area with cursed energy to stop the bleeding did nothing.
Saishū began revealing his technique in the same manner Kenjaku often did. His techniques functioned like conceptual effects. Once strengthened, the target could not break free.
"Loss Technique [Bone Swim]. I don't know whether Reverse Cursed Technique works or not, but your body has already forgotten where that wound is."
(Bone Swim refers to a technique used by certain master sashimi chefs to show off their knife skills. While the fish is still alive, they slice it into sashimi, then throw the remaining head, tail, and skeleton back into water, where it can still swim.)
"Ahh… Then why hasn't this pain been forgotten? Could it be that your technique failed?"
Yu Haibara bared his teeth and stared directly at Saishū, making sure the cursed spirit could not slip out of his sight again.
"But this level of stimulation is just right. I'll smash you to pieces!"
Ignoring the blood still flowing from his wound, Yu Haibara swung his fist toward Saishū.
Saishū dodged the incoming "bomb punch," and his fourth face suddenly spoke.
"Why not create blood using Reverse Cursed Technique to prevent excessive blood loss?"
Yu Haibara responded with another punch, blasting Saishū away.
"Using Reverse Cursed Technique would reduce my cursed energy output. Trying to make me lose my advantage? I'm not falling for something that obvious."
"Oh? Is that so… Maximum Technique [Life]."
Saishū's fourth face grew larger, its smiling expression becoming even more unsettling. Yet at first glance, nothing else seemed to change.
Suddenly, he accelerated. His hand, covered in bone spikes, shot toward Yu Haibara. He took Yu Haibara's punch head-on, his chest cracking from the impact, but in exchange he carved a wound across Yu Haibara's leg.
Yu Haibara immediately felt his released cursed energy drop by nearly half.
At that same moment, Kento Nanami, who was fighting Mahito nearby, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his leg. A wound identical to Yu Haibara's had appeared there.
The sudden injury disrupted Nanami's movement.
Mahito, whose cursed energy had been heavily drained moments earlier, instantly seized the opening. His fatigue vanished as he pressed his hand against Kento Nanami's lower abdomen.
[Idle Transfiguration]
Seeing this, Yu Haibara immediately remembered the fate of the distorted humans earlier.
While blocking Saishū's attacks, he ignored his own injuries and rushed toward them.
"Nanami!!"