Chapter 11: A Blade Faster Than Cursed Techniques
"Second floor cleared!"
"Third floor's fine too!"
As the group pushed deeper into the building, the tension eased slightly.
There were still plenty of curses lurking around, but against Yami's absurd swordsmanship, their numbers had started to feel almost meaningless.
Most of the time, by the moment Megumi Fushiguro released Divine Dog to scout ahead and Yuji Itadori had barely shifted into position, Yami had already sheathed his sword.
That left Nobara Kugisaki, who had been itching to show off a little, in an increasingly foul mood.
"Hey, Yami!"
She kicked a pebble down the corridor with obvious irritation.
"Can't you leave me at least two or three to deal with?"
"I specifically brought new nails, and I haven't even gotten to use them properly yet!"
Yami smiled at her apologetically.
"Sorry."
"My body just moved on its own."
It was not bragging.
As his role playing progress continued to rise, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's combat instincts were gradually sinking deeper and deeper into his bones. The moment Yami sensed the foul stench of a curse, his muscles would react before his thoughts did.
It was an instinct carved into his being.
A natural urge to cut down evil.
"Tch. Don't say it in such an annoying way."
Nobara rolled her eyes and walked toward the corner ahead, intending to check the next stretch of hallway.
Then the situation changed without warning.
From the shadows of a wall that had looked completely empty just a second ago, a pale arm suddenly shot out.
It was thin as a dead branch, but its nails were long and sharp as knives. Without making the slightest sound, it clawed straight toward the back of Nobara's neck.
A Grade 2 curse.
One with enough intelligence to hide itself and wait.
It had stayed buried in the shadows the whole time, letting the deaths of the other curses dull the group's vigilance. It had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
And now, it had found it.
"Kugisaki! Behind you!"
Megumi, who was bringing up the rear, was the first to notice. His eyes widened as he shouted.
But it was too late.
The distance.
The speed.
Before Nobara could even turn around, a deathly chill had already swallowed her whole.
I'm going to die.
The thought flashed through her mind the instant she felt those sharp nails brush the skin of her neck.
And then
Whoosh.
A gust of wind swept through the narrow corridor.
It carried heat.
Not ordinary heat, but a scorching rush that tore through the air like a flash fire.
Nobara only caught a blur.
Yami, who had been standing several meters away, vanished without warning.
In the next instant, a red arc exploded through the darkness.
It looked like the first line of sunlight breaking through dawn, cutting apart the shadows in one clean stroke.
Slash.
The pale arm reaching for Nobara's throat was severed at the shoulder.
Before even a drop of black blood could spill out, the wound was seared shut by the heat, and the foul fluid evaporated on the spot.
"GAAAAH!!!"
A shrill, distorted scream tore out from the shadows.
The Grade 2 curse recoiled in terror, clutching at its severed shoulder as it tried to retreat.
Too late.
Yami appeared in front of it like a ghost, the blade in his hand now reversed in grip.
"Since you reached out... leave your life behind."
Thud.
A flash.
Then the curse's massive head flew into the air.
By the time its body hit the ground and began crumbling into ash, the terror on its face had not even faded.
It could not understand.
Even at the moment of its death, it could not comprehend why a human without cursed energy could move that fast.
Fast enough that even a curse's senses could not follow him.
The hallway fell silent once more.
Yami stood in front of Nobara with his back to her, slowly lowering the blade in his hand.
His uniform was not even wrinkled.
It was as if the life and death moment from just seconds earlier had been nothing more than an illusion.
"Are you alright?"
He did not turn around when he asked it.
His voice was still gentle.
Still calm.
But to Nobara in that moment, it might as well have been the voice of a savior.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Her heart slammed wildly against her chest.
Was this what people called the suspension bridge effect?
A second ago, with death looming over her shoulder, that figure standing in front of her had seemed absurdly
tall.
Reliable.
And, annoyingly enough, kind of cool.
"I I'm fine!"
Nobara sucked in a sharp breath and forced herself to calm down, refusing to look like some lovestruck idiot.
"Hmph. You just reacted fast, that's all."
"That curse was too sneaky. I only got caught off guard for a second!"
She said it stubbornly, but the hand gripping her hammer was still trembling.
Yami turned to look at her.
Seeing the way she was forcing herself to stay composed, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
"Yeah. I know."
Then his expression softened.
"But stay close to me from now on."
"What's above us is probably a lot more dangerous than that."
The words had barely left his mouth when
BOOM!!!
The entire building shook violently.
A deafening roar came crashing down from the rooftop.
Immediately after, a suffocating wave of terrifying pressure descended from above like a mountain collapsing from the sky.
"This cursed energy..."
Megumi's face turned deathly pale.
Even breathing suddenly became difficult.
"How is that possible...?"
"This level of cursed energy residue..."
Yuji clutched at his chest too. The sheer disgust of it made his stomach churn.
Only Yami remained calm.
He slowly lifted his head, his gaze piercing upward as though it could pass through every floor between them and the source of that evil.
"So you finally stopped holding back," he murmured.
The grip he had on his sword tightened until the hilt creaked.
His blood began to heat.
Not from fear.
From excitement.
The exhilaration of standing before a true enemy.
The thrill of a hunter finally seeing worthy prey.
"Special Grade…"
.....
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