Wrapping Up

"Gojo Satoru! That's the Special Grade Vengeful Spirit, isn't it?! I said from the beginning that the cursed vessel was not permitted to participate in the Exchange Event. You insisted on having him join, and this is the result!" Gakuganji rebuked the still-smiling Gojo Satoru as he watched the dangerous figure on the screen.

Everyone present wore grave expressions. The oppressive presence of Rika, a Special Grade Vengeful Spirit, seemed to crash through the screen and strike directly at their hearts. Gojo Satoru, who was being reprimanded, stood and stretched lazily. "It's fine, leave it to me. Rika may have appeared out of control, but she hasn't made any attacks on the people around her."

Looking carefully, they found that this was indeed the case. Though the figure appeared frenzied, she truly had not made any excessively violent moves against her surroundings. Under Mei Mei's efforts to control them, the crows that had flown far away continued transmitting the situation at the scene.

Several students could vaguely be seen nearby. They seemed to be unharmed as well. Gojo Satoru waved. "I'll head over first, then. It's nothing serious, so don't worry."

Ieiri Shoko spoke from the side. "I'll come too, in case anyone's hurt." Then Gojo Satoru left the room with Ieiri Shoko, and the two vanished from sight.

The grotesque presence hovered in the air. Its lower body was an unstable, smoke-like form beneath a pale torso. Its hands were broad enough that claws would have been a more fitting description. Its upper body had protruding ribs, while behind its head were numerous tubular objects. Its face had no eyes—only a huge, bloodthirsty maw packed with sharp teeth.

"What a sight. How are you planning to deal with it, Satoru?" Ieiri Shoko and Gojo Satoru stood at a safe distance, watching as she sighed in amazement.

Gojo Satoru removed his sunglasses, his blue eyes reflecting Rika's violent figure. "Looks like Okkotsu's previous efforts weren't wasted. On the contrary, they were quite successful. Something unexpected just seems to have happened, causing her to exceed his control."

Snap!

Gojo Satoru snapped his fingers. "Then all we need to do is weaken Rika until he can control her again!"

Knowing his temperament, Ieiri Shoko rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're about to go wild again, Satoru? The students from both sides are still here."

Gojo Satoru smiled unconcernedly. "I'll be gentle." With that, he vanished from where he stood. When he reappeared, he was already in the air, at roughly the same height as Rika.

Rika looked at the tiny human who had suddenly appeared not far from her. Her instincts urged her to attack, yet Okkotsu's restraint made her hesitate.

Gojo Satoru looked down and saw Okkotsu Yuta, drenched in sweat on the ground, along with Panda, White Wolf, and Todo Aoi some distance away. Then he turned his gaze back to Rika.

"Let's keep her under control first."

Cursed Technique Lapse: Blue

Cursed Technique Reversal: Red

After the two respective infinities collided, they released the imaginary mass born from that collision. This was—Hollow Wicker Basket: Purple.

A point of purple light emerged from Gojo Satoru's fingertips, immediately stirring up endless turbulent currents around it.

Then Gojo Satoru flicked a finger. A perfectly circular trail, taller than a person, tore through the air, annihilating everything it touched.

From Gojo Satoru's angle, he could see a massive hole stretching from Rika's damaged body all the way through to the empty ground behind her.

After releasing a piercing shriek, Rika's body began to regenerate. However, her aura had visibly weakened.

Watching Rika charge toward him, Gojo Satoru waved goodbye. "Bye-bye!" Then he vanished from the air, reappearing on the ground.

When Shen Yuanyi rushed to the scene using his Cursed Technique, he saw the anxious Okkotsu Yuta alongside Panda and the others. White Wolf whined as he ran over, apparently frightened by Rika.

The moment he saw Shen Yuanyi, Okkotsu Yuta hurriedly said while trying to control Rika, "Yuanyi, where's Gojo-sensei? Rika's out of control—I can't restrain her!"

Shen Yuanyi looked toward Rika, who was drifting aimlessly in the air, calling Yuta's name in a sharp, distorted voice. He then looked at Panda and Todo Aoi, both of whom were injured. He just did not know how many of those injuries Rika had caused.

Seeing this, Shen Yuanyi more or less guessed what had happened. Todo Aoi had most likely found Okkotsu and the others and placed them in danger, causing Rika to break free from Okkotsu's control and manifest on her own in an attempt to protect him.

Judging by Todo's condition, he had not gotten off easy either. Naturally—he had hurt the person Rika loved most. The only reason she had not torn him apart was because Okkotsu was there.

Fortunately, no one appeared to be seriously harmed. Okkotsu's desperate efforts to restrain her had played a part in that. Seeing this, Shen Yuanyi decided there was no need to reverse their conditions. Instead, he tried using his own Reverse Cursed Technique to heal them. It worked, though its effect was far inferior to Shoko's.

"Tch!"

Seeing their injuries go from severe to merely moderate, Shen Yuanyi decided it would be better to wait for Ieiri Shoko. Feeling the wounds within his body improve, Okkotsu Yuta could not help asking distractedly, "Yuanyi, is this your Cursed Technique?"

Shen Yuanyi's face darkened. "Gojo-sensei didn't tell you either? Seriously... This is called the Reverse Cursed Technique. You can learn it too. I'll teach you later."

Speak of the devil, and he appeared. Gojo Satoru suddenly manifested in the air, seeming to raise his hand. Then something terrifying pierced through the sky, and Rika suffered a devastating blow.

"Rika!"

Okkotsu Yuta looked panicked. Shen Yuanyi pressed a hand onto his shoulder and comforted him. "Curses use Cursed Energy to repair themselves. Don't be so nervous."

Sure enough, as Rika's body regenerated at a speed visible to the naked eye, Okkotsu Yuta finally calmed down.

When they looked again at the terrifying trail of destruction, everyone revealed shocked expressions. Shen Yuanyi was somewhat less surprised, because he vaguely remembered that Gojo-sensei seemed capable of producing even more outrageous displays.

Before they could marvel for long, Gojo Satoru suddenly vanished from the air and appeared before them.

"Hi! Is everyone okay?"

Okkotsu Yuta cried out anxiously, "Gojo-sensei! It seems like I can't control Rika right now. She won't listen to me either..."

Gojo Satoru looked at Okkotsu and smiled. "It's okay. You've already done well enough. If not for your restraint, something serious might really have happened. Leave it to me now."

Once Okkotsu Yuta relaxed, Shen Yuanyi saw Gojo Satoru turn toward him. His heart inexplicably skipped a beat, and sure enough, Gojo Satoru said with a grin, "Yuanyi, that attack of mine seriously injured Rika. I'll leave the rest to you! Just weaken her a little more, and Okkotsu should be able to control her."

Looking at Rika, who was already charging toward them, Shen Yuanyi's face darkened. "Didn't you say to leave it to you?"

As he gestured for Panda and the others to leave, Gojo Satoru said, "Isn't it only natural for disciples to share their teacher's burdens? I just want you to grow more, too."

"Well then, I'll take them to Shoko first. You and Okkotsu stay here. I'll come back once you're done. Bye-bye!"

With that, they vanished from sight. Shen Yuanyi turned back toward the approaching Rika. Okkotsu Yuta looked at him as if he wanted to say something but held it in. Shen Yuanyi sighed, patted his shoulder, and stepped forward. "Wait here. I'll go calm your girlfriend down. After that, it'll still be up to you."

Rika, charging toward them, could no longer suppress her desire to attack. Even though Gojo Satoru had already seriously injured her, curses were the sort of beings that, so long as they possessed Cursed Energy and had not been immediately destroyed, could slowly recover through their own abilities.

Rika herself possessed an enormous amount of Cursed Energy. Because of the bond between her and Okkotsu, she could even draw upon his Cursed Energy both ways. Thus, she still possessed the ability to fight.

"Rika."

Rika charged straight at them with her jaws stretched wide, mindlessly calling Okkotsu's name. Seeing someone block her path, she reached out to grab him.

"Stop right there."

Before the words had even faded, Shen Yuanyi vanished. Rika's forward momentum was instantly reversed, and only then did the thunderous boom and ensuing shockwave arrive.

Shen Yuanyi looked at his clenched fist, feeling the Cursed Energy boiling throughout his body. This feeling of being so full of power was truly intoxicating! That Cursed Blade was no longer suitable at a time like this. Its grade was too low; it would not withstand having too much Cursed Energy poured into it.

"Graaah!"

A massive surge of Cursed Energy suddenly rose from the shattered woods. Amid Rika's piercing shriek, the dust billowing into the air was abruptly dragged in one direction. Rika's figure had already filled Shen Yuanyi's vision, her claws trailing flickering Cursed Energy as they carved afterimages through the air.

"Too slow."

Watching the path of the attack clearly as it slowly descended toward him, Shen Yuanyi muttered to himself. He had not even activated his technique yet. As his mastery of the technique deepened, Shen Yuanyi had gradually discovered that his neural reaction speed had also become faster and faster. When focused, even ordinary high-speed moving objects were crystal clear to him.

Wheel of Time: Spin

Having moved to Rika's side, Shen Yuanyi raised both hands and clenched them into fists. Cursed Energy output, maximized!

One punch landed on Rika's body. The immense Cursed Energy broke through her currently fragile defenses, and even the impact after the strike seemed to freeze in midair. Shen Yuanyi could even vaguely see the distorted air.

Then came the second punch, then the third. Feeling that it was about enough, Shen Yuanyi finally withdrew his hands and deactivated his technique.

Then, everything erupted in an instant. The impacts compressed into the same moment exploded with astonishing ferocity amid a thunderous roar. Violent winds swept outward, blowing away the scattered earth, rocks, and trees around them and clearing an open space. The Cursed Energy that erupted at the same time nearly shot into the sky, only to be completely warped away by the black light rising from within it.

Rika had already been sent flying sideways like a cannonball. After smashing through several trees, she was nowhere to be seen. The spot where she had stood had become a huge sunken crater, its dirt and stones all compressed into one solid mass.

Shen Yuanyi let out a long breath as he used Cursed Technique Reversal to restore himself to his prior condition. The maximum Cursed Energy output and several attacks just now had consumed quite a bit of Cursed Energy, and he had even landed a Black Flash during it, increasing the damage considerably.

It had to be said that, as a Special Grade Curse, Rika's defenses were truly absurd. If it had been some Grade 1 Cursed Spirit just now, it would have long since been beaten to ash. Even against other ordinary Special Grade Cursed Spirits, Shen Yuanyi felt he could have beaten them to the brink of death, perhaps even exorcised them outright. But according to his senses, Rika was still recovering rapidly. Still... it was about time.

"One more."

Shen Yuanyi aimed at where Rika was, raised two fingers toward her, and once again mobilized the abundant Cursed Energy within his body.

Cursed Energy Emission

Glittering Cursed Energy continuously gathered in Shen Yuanyi's hand. The resulting wind currents swirled the leaves drifting toward him, and even the surrounding air gradually twisted because of it. When the mass of Cursed Energy at his fingertips expanded to the size of a human head, Shen Yuanyi stopped feeding it energy, then activated his technique again.

It vanished. The Cursed Energy at his fingertips abruptly disappeared, leaving only the surrounding leaves to lose their pull and float to the ground. What appeared just as abruptly was a straight ravine extending from before Shen Yuanyi all the way to where Rika had been blasted away. With no trees left standing between them, he could see the end at a glance.

At that moment, he could clearly see that Rika's body had been damaged in many places, and her recovery under the effects of her Cursed Energy had slowed considerably. Then, amid her intermittent cries of pain, Shen Yuanyi sighed and turned to greet the Okkotsu who looked ready to cry. "Don't worry. With both her own Cursed Energy and yours, she'll recover quickly. In just a few days, she'll be back on her feet."

"Why does that sound a little weird?" Shen Yuanyi quietly remarked, then watched as Okkotsu easily summoned Rika back. Rika let out a whimper-like sound as she returned to Okkotsu's side, then entered the Cursed Blade he carried with him.

Originally, the binding medium between Rika and him had been the ring they exchanged when they promised to grow up and get married. Later, at Gojo Satoru's suggestion, Okkotsu had continuously tried to infuse the curse into his blade in order to gain further control over it. By repeating the process, he would eventually be able to fully master the curse.

Okkotsu crouched halfway down and held the blade as he stared at it for a moment. Then he slightly raised his head to look at Shen Yuanyi. "Yuanyi, thank you so much. And Gojo-sensei too. I almost... let someone get hurt because of me again."

Seeing the self-reproachful Okkotsu Yuta, Shen Yuanyi walked over, grabbed his shoulder, and helped him up. "Enough with that. If it weren't for your control holding out until Gojo-sensei arrived, something really might have happened. You did well. Isn't everyone fine?"

Okkotsu wanted to say something else, but Shen Yuanyi cut him off. "Come on, let's hurry and take you to Shoko to see if you're hurt. Perfect timing—have Shoko explain Reverse Cursed Technique to you. That's what she's best at."