Kurourushi screamed—
a wet, scraping sound that made the air feel rotten.
The swarm exploded outward.
Thousands of cursed insects spilling across the ground, walls, air—
Yuta moved first.
A clean slash.
Cursed energy surged through his blade, carving a path through the swarm—
but it didn't slow.
Didn't hesitate.
"…They keep coming," Yuta muttered.
Takeru stepped forward.
"…Area denial ineffective."
He vanished—
Frame shift.
Reappeared mid-swarm—
hand striking through a cluster—
body already moving to the next position.
Each movement precise.
Each step pre-calculated.
Kurourushi's head snapped toward him.
Target changed.
It lunged—
massive arm slicing downward—
Takeru shifted—
barely—
just enough to let it pass.
"…Speed acceptable."
But the swarm followed.
Yuji wasn't here.
Megumi wasn't here.
Just—
Takeru and Yuta.
Yuta pushed forward again—
"Rika!"
A surge answered.
From the distance—
the pressure spiked again.
Rika's presence pressed against the battlefield—
not fully there—
but supporting.
Kurourushi screeched again—
opening its body—
A wave of insects burst out—
larger this time.
More aggressive.
Takeru's eyes narrowed.
"…Core located."
Yuta followed his gaze.
"…Yeah. That's the problem."
Kurourushi's center—
writhing—
pulsing—
The source.
Yuta rushed in.
Fast.
Direct.
Blade cutting through limbs—
through chitin—
through resistance—
Takeru moved alongside him—
frame by frame—
disrupting the swarm's path—
clearing openings—
Kurourushi retaliated.
A massive swing—
followed by a burst of insects directly at Yuta—
Takeru appeared in front—
Intercepted.
The swarm split around him—
his movement breaking their trajectory.
"…Path corrected."
Yuta didn't stop.
Closed the distance.
Kurourushi screeched—
desperate now—
its body unraveling—
But too late.
Yuta stepped in.
Hand forward.
"…This ends here."
A pulse of reversed cursed energy surged outward—
pure.
Opposite.
It hit Kurourushi directly.
And everything changed.
The curse convulsed—
body destabilizing—
rotting from the inside out—
A scream—
cut short—
Then—
silence.
Its body collapsed.
Disintegrated.
Gone.
The swarm died with it.
The air cleared.
Yuta exhaled slowly.
"…That's one."
Takeru stood beside him.
"…Confirmed."
The battlefield stilled.
But the colony didn't.
Because this was only the beginning.