With the descent of the Clear Blue Sky slash, the once-dark rainy alley was instantly filled with golden-red flames.
The high temperature evaporated the rainwater, sending up clouds of white mist.
Although Mahito had twisted his body at the last second to avoid a direct hit, the searing heat rushing at him still made his heart skip a beat.
He stared at his singed hair, his expression darkening to the extreme.
"Human, you are too arrogant!"
Mahito was completely infuriated by Yoru's gaze, which looked at him as if he were already a corpse.
As a Special Grade Cursed Spirit born from the hatred humans felt for one another, he had stood at the top of the food chain since the moment of his birth.
It had always been his role to toy with human souls; since when did a brat without even a lick of cursed energy get to lecture him?
"I don't know what's weird about your blade, but if you can't hit me, it's meaningless!"
Mahito roared, his body undergoing a grotesque transformation.
His arms suddenly swelled, turning into several whip-blades with sharp barbs that lashed out wildly like octopus tentacles.
Each whip-blade was coated in dense cursed energy, tearing through the air with sharp sonic booms wherever they passed.
"Soul Multiplicity: Repel!"
Despite his arrogant words, Mahito's battle instincts told him he had to go all out.
He opened with an indiscriminate attack that covered the entire area.
The narrow alleyway was instantly filled with dense shadows of whips, leaving no room to dodge.
"Die!"
Mahito grinned maliciously, as if he could already see the image of Yoru being sliced into mincemeat.
Yet, in the face of this overwhelming onslaught, Yoru's expression remained as calm as still water.
The rhythm of his breathing shifted subtly.
His aura, previously as scorching as fire, became as gentle as water in an instant.
Although the core of the Yoriichi Tsugikuni template was Sun Breathing, it was the source of all Breathing Styles.
Having unlocked a 15% Synchronization Rate, Yoru was now able to derive and simulate the characteristics of other basic Breathing Styles through Sun Breathing.
"Total Concentration: Water Breathing."
Yoru murmured softly, his footwork becoming ethereal and unpredictable.
"Third Form: Flowing Dance."
At the very instant the whip-blades were about to touch his body.
Yoru moved.
His body seemed to transform into an invisible current of water, weaving effortlessly through the gaps in the dense web of whips.
Dodging left, evading right, ducking, and pivoting.
Every movement was perfect, as if he had already predicted every trajectory of the whip-blades.
That sense of fluidity was like water flowing between jagged rocks; no matter how sharp the stones, the water always found a path through.
"What?!"
Mahito's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.
How was this possible?
In such a cramped space, not even a Special Grade Sorcerer should have been able to emerge unscathed from his area-of-effect attack!
But he wasn't done yet.
The moment Yoru passed through the mesh of whips like a ghost and closed the distance to within three meters of Mahito.
His aura changed once more.
The gentle, water-like sensation vanished instantly, replaced by a fire even more violent and scorching than before!
A total switch from water to fire!
This was a technique Yoru had mastered through countless practice sessions, modeled after that charcoal-selling boy who also wielded a Nichirin Sword.
Evading with the flexibility of Water Breathing, and counterattacking with the explosive power of Sun Breathing.
"Sun Breathing, Third Form."
Yoru swung his Shiranui tachi with a violent force.
Golden-red flames condensed on the blade, forming a deep crimson arc of light.
"Burning Sun!"
Squelch!
This strike was so fast it surpassed the limits of Mahito's reaction time.
He couldn't even retract his transformed arms in time, forced to watch as the crimson curtain of light sliced through his defenses.
Slash!
A massive gash was ripped open across Mahito's chest.
Not only that.
The whip-blades that tried to block the blade were also sliced cleanly the moment they touched the bright red light, like a hot knife through butter.
"Aaaaah!"
A shrill scream pierced the night sky.
Mahito stumbled backward, the wound on his chest not healing rapidly as it usually did.
Golden-red sparks flickered there, preventing the regeneration of his soul.
For a Cursed Spirit who took pleasure in toying with souls, he was experiencing for the first time what it meant to wish he were dead.
"Impossible... This is impossible..."
Mahito clutched his chest, his eyes filled with terror.
His Idle Transfiguration allowed him to change the shape of his soul at will, thereby repairing his body.
But now, he found that the soul at his wound seemed scorched, making it impossible to reshape!
A natural predator.
Absolute counters!
"It's not over yet."
Yoru's voice rang out again.
Giving Mahito no room to breathe, he kicked off the ground and surged forward like an arrow from a bow.
His tachi rose once more, flames surging around it.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"
Mahito was in a full-blown panic.
He could feel it—if he took another hit, he would truly die!
This brat without any cursed energy could actually kill him!
"Domain Expansion—"
Mahito was about to make a desperate gamble and forcibly expand his incomplete Domain.
But when he saw Yoru's unshakeable crimson eyes, his courage instantly crumbled.
Escape!
He had to get away!
Mahito made a split-second decision; his body exploded into countless tiny pieces of flesh that scattered in all directions.
This was his life-saving ultimate move.
As long as a single piece of flesh escaped, he could be resurrected.
"Thinking of running?"
Yoru's gaze narrowed as his aura shifted from scorching heat to violent thunder.
Zzzzt—
Golden-red arcs of electricity leaped wildly around him, instantly evaporating the puddles on the ground.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash."
He crouched slightly, right hand resting on the hilt of his blade, poised like a bolt of lightning ready to strike.
"Eightfold!"
Kaboom!
A thunderclap suddenly erupted within the pitch-black alley.
Golden-red lightning refracted wildly through the narrow space, each strike precisely piercing through a large cluster of the scattered flesh.
This was lightning combined with the scorching properties of Sun Breathing, dealing a double blow of destruction to the soul.
The air was instantly filled with a sickening smell of burnt flesh.
But in the end, due to the complex terrain and the nearby manhole cover...
Plop.
A few surviving pieces of flesh slipped into the sewer, escaping rapidly through the wastewater.
"Yoru! I'll remember this! I will definitely come back for you!"
From the depths of the sewer came Mahito's venomous yet weak roar.
Yoru slowly sheathed his blade as the lightning around him quietly faded away.
He didn't give chase.
For one, the sewer environment was complex and connected to the entire city's underground water system, making it difficult to track.
Secondly, his objective for today had been achieved.
He had severely wounded Mahito, preventing him from causing trouble for a while and giving him a harsh lesson.
'Still not fluid enough...'
Yoru looked down at his palm and sighed softly.
Although that instantaneous switch between Water, Fire, and Thunder had fooled Mahito, in his own eyes, there was still a noticeable lack of flow.
If the switch had been even 0.1 seconds faster, none of Mahito's flesh pieces would have escaped.
'Still, it was enough.'
Yoru turned around and looked toward the entrance of the alley.
The rain had stopped.
Junpei Yoshino stood there dazed, still holding two bowls of ramen that had long since gone cold.
He had witnessed the entire battle.
Although a normal person's eyesight prevented him from seeing the exact form of the Cursed Spirit, he had seen the sun-like radiance when Yoru swung his blade.
And the monster that had filled him with dread, fleeing in disgrace before Yoru.
"Yo... Yoru-kun..."
Junpei's voice was trembling.
Not from fear, but from excitement.
The excitement of someone who had walked in darkness for so long and finally seen the light.
"Sorry for letting your ramen get cold."
Yoru walked up to Junpei, the coldness on his face melting away as he returned to being a gentle youth.
He reached out to take the bowls from Junpei and smiled.
"As an apology, I'll treat you to something better next time."
"By the way, do you have school tomorrow?"
Junpei blinked and nodded instinctively.
"Perfect."
Yoru patted Junpei's shoulder, his tone as casual as if they were discussing the weather.
"I'll drop by your school tomorrow too."
"And while I'm at it, I'll help you clear out the rest of the trash."
[ Author's Note : If you're loving the story, a power_stone, review or comment means the world!
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