A Man in the Multiverse, Starting Out as Fu Hua

Watching him charge at her with his fists clenched, Black Amber almost laughed.

A pair of claws with black fist armor and crimson nails appeared beside her. Before Sukuna could react, they sent him flying even faster than he had come, while black-red tentacles appeared again and smacked him back.

"Barely qualified to be used as a ping-pong ball."

Black Amber sat atop one claw while the other sent him flying again.

At this point, even an idiot could see the gap between them.

Just as that damn woman had said, he was being toyed with like a plaything.

No matter how unwilling he was to admit it, Sukuna knew there was no chance of killing her. This curse incarnated within a girl was like some loyal dog—despite possessing such immense power, she insisted on this nonsense about peaceful coexistence.

Aren't you a fucking curse!?

If the Cursed Energy around Black Amber had not been so pure and genuine, Sukuna would have started wondering whether she was truly a curse at all.

"You are a curse, yet you enjoy serving as the retainer of a frail little girl. You really are interesting."

Though he knew he could not win, he could not afford to lose face.

Sukuna adjusted his landing posture and avoided being batted around like a ball again. After landing, he sneered, "This game ends here. It was a satisfactory warm-up before I come out and kill you all. Don't worry. Once I get out, the first one I kill will be your host."

After delivering that threat, Sukuna simply let go and returned to Yuji's body.

As he had said, he had no interest in getting beaten up. But he had already written both of them down in his notebook. That damn woman and that self-proclaimed strongest mortal were both now targets he would definitely kill.

The King of Curses suppressed his towering rage, with nowhere to vent it, and could only wait for an opportunity with a twisted expression.

Chapter Twenty-Nine ended.

"A third-rate curse using a fourth-rate technique and trying to show off fifth-rate hand-to-hand combat."

Watching Sukuna return to the body, Black Amber gave her assessment.

Sukuna, who could still see the outside world, instantly turned red with rage. But he had already delivered his threat, and as a strong man, he understood perfectly well that the weak had no right to speak. His strength had not fully recovered yet, and anything he said now would sound like the barking of a defeated dog. Better to pretend he had not heard it.

But there was one thing he had to admit: compared to that girl's unfathomable technique, his own technique truly fell short in terms of mechanics.

Damn it! To think some insignificant nobody had gotten so smug over him!

Black Amber could not be bothered mocking someone playing dead any longer. Seeing that the matter was resolved, she returned the body to Amber.

Afraid that she would be too slow and Yuji would die before her, Amber hurried forward and replaced the Core of the Herrscher of Death with the Door of the Other Shore.

You really don't need to be in such a hurry.

Black Amber was completely unhurried. The Herrscher of Death might not be able to revive people in Honkai Impact 3rd, but in most other worlds, reviving someone is extremely easy. After all, most settings have souls.

Huh...?

Amber was confused. But... I can't see any souls...

You cannot see them only because you do not have that concept.

Black Amber spread her hands. We lived in the Type-Moon world for so long that we became thoroughly familiar with the shape and existence of souls. You don't think we lived for thousands of years without making any progress, do you? Though I only lived for a few decades.

During the five thousand years Amber had been unconscious, they had not simply stayed in the mountains doing nothing. Throughout that time, they had continuously refined their cultivation and martial arts, and they had often encountered fortuitous opportunities and moments of enlightenment. Compared to when they had first been summoned, the three of them were completely different now.

Unfortunately, Black Amber had no physical form. Although Fu Hua had agreed to teach her Tai Xu Sword Qi, that was limited to cultivating her consciousness.

Even so, that alone was enough for her to defeat most beings.

What was even more absurd was Fu Hua and the Herrscher of Reason. Their levels had long surpassed anything from the original work. Black Amber could not see through their strength, but by her estimation, even if they were not Emanators, they were incomparably close to becoming one. They might even already be Emanators.

Uh...

Amber had truly never considered any of this.

Mainly because she had no real concept of time. Forget thousands of years—even hundreds were an astronomical number beyond her understanding. Having lived for less than twenty years, she saw little difference between a few decades and a few thousand years.

But setting aside her impressions and looking at it rationally, she could understand just how enormous that number was.

So you do not need to worry about life and death in most worlds. With the Core of the Herrscher of Death, as long as the soul remains, there is no one you cannot save.

Black Amber spoke.

I understand.

This was good news for Amber. She nodded, but her hands did not slow as she poured the power of Creation into Itadori Yuji, who lay on the ground.

This was the creation of Genetic Level. Restoring flesh to the living and bones to the dead was effortless. Unfortunately, it could only create, not alter... Wait, that was wrong. Though it was called creation, what it created was still decided by the user, wasn't it? As long as she had sufficient knowledge, could she not modify DNA however she pleased? Turning a man into a woman, making something large smaller—should that not be effortless too?

Unfortunately, Amber could only follow the target's own genes and instinctively rebuild and repair them in a simple, crude manner.

Wasn't this authority supposed to be powered by "I reckon"? Why do I have to study too!?

Black Amber said, The authorities of other worlds might work by "I reckon," but the authorities in Honkai Impact 3rd probably require some knowledge... No, if you only use them simply, calling it "I reckon" would not be wrong. It is only when you want to get fancy that you need to use your brain.

Amber was extremely dissatisfied and, in a burst of rage, got angry.

There was nothing she could do. This was all a poor student's anger amounted to. When she got angry, she could do things she normally could not—except solve science problems.

It would be great if there were an AI inside the Herrscher Core that could automatically turn my thoughts into reality!

As the power of Creation flowed into him, Yuji's eyes gradually opened. He was dazed for a moment before immediately sitting up. "Shier!? Why are you here? Come to think of it, that cursed spirit... and Sukuna?"

"The incident has been resolved, Yuji-senpai."

Seeing his confused and tense expression, Amber quickly reassured him. "Don't worry. It's safe now."

"Ah... I see..."

Yuji scratched his head belatedly. He had lost consciousness when he was about to be killed and filled with negative emotions. It was only natural that he would be somewhat emotionally unstable upon waking. After taking another breath, he finally calmed down.

"Right, why are you here, Shier?"

He looked around at the dormitory building, which had returned to normal after the domain was released. The two of them were currently standing in the corridor.

Though it had returned to normal, the battle between Sukuna and Amber had still caused massive destruction. Visible not far away were broken walls and ruins.

"Because my other self said everyone might be in danger, so Shier came back immediately."

Amber explained.

"Huh!? Then what about your Special Grade Assessment, Shier!?"

Yuji asked in shock.

"Compared to Shier, Yuji-senpai should be more concerned about yourself!"

Amber was touched, but she still had to explain the seriousness of the situation. "If Shier had not returned in time this time, Yuji-senpai really would have died."

"Even Sukuna could not defeat that cursed spirit?"

Simple-minded Yuji thought it was a matter of combat strength. After all, both sides were special grade, so it would not be strange if Sukuna could not win.

Amber did not react much to that, but Sukuna, watching from outside, nearly exploded with rage.

Did that piece of trash he could kill in an instant deserve to be grouped together with him? And what was that about "even Sukuna could not defeat it"?

"Sukuna is the King of Curses. Other than my other self, there probably isn't any curse that can defeat him."

Amber explained Sukuna's danger before describing what had happened.

Hearing that such a dangerous situation had occurred and that he had nearly harmed the junior girl he cared for, Itadori Yuji's once-relaxed expression immediately turned grave. His lips pressed together as, for the first time, he took Sukuna's evil nature seriously.

"I understand. Sorry for making you worry, Shier."

Yuji was not the type who refused to listen to advice. Knowing that he had walked through death's door and would already be dead if his junior had not awakened a Healing Technique, he solemnly expressed his gratitude.

"Right, where are Fushiguro and the others? And what about your assessment, Shier?"

Taking it seriously did not mean he would ignore everyone else's situation.

"Megumi-senpai and Nobara-senpai suffered some injuries, but they are not serious."

Amber said, "Shier came here first because she was afraid something might happen to Yuji-senpai. Since Yuji-senpai is fine now, Shier will go help Megumi-senpai and Nobara-senpai heal. As for the assessment, that cursed spirit happened to be countered by my technique, so it is already over."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go down together, and also..."

Yuji smiled with gratitude and congratulations. "Congratulations on passing the assessment, Shier."

Chapter Thirty: She Would Win.

"Seriously!? Shier was already so strong, and now she's awakened such a powerful technique!?"

On the train back, Nobara could not help feeling surprised and envious of Amber's performance. "You can restore bodies through Genetic Level and break down anything you touch. That's practically cheating!"

Her technique, the Cursed Spirit Technique, was actually a very rare and powerful technique. As long as she possessed any part of a target's body, even if they were separated by a hundred thousand miles, she could use that fragment to harm the target. The more vital the body part, the stronger the effect, but even unimportant parts could cause some damage.

But she personally preferred fighting people head-on and rarely acted as a backline attacker.

She kept fighting head-on despite not being suited for frontal combat, which made her desperately want a technique suitable for direct combat, as well as powerful hand-to-hand abilities.

"The curse... your other self inside you should have her own technique too."

Fushiguro Megumi sighed somewhat. "That makes it equivalent to having two techniques. I've never heard of anything like it."

"So nice... If only I had a technique too..."

Yuji's face was full of envy. "Forget an Innate Technique. At least Shier can use her other self's technique. Unlike me, I have neither an Innate Technique nor any sign that Sukuna intends to let me use his."

"Ryomen Sukuna is not such a friendly curse... Or rather, normal curses instinctively harbor hostility toward humans."

Fushiguro Megumi said calmly, "Shier's situation is the abnormal one."

Not only had she given the host she incarnated within a technique, but she even protected her host when she encountered trouble. Was this truly without cost?

Fushiguro Megumi had always remained wary of that.

"My other self isn't a curse..."

Amber knew Fushiguro Megumi's vigilance came from wanting to protect her, but she still felt somewhat helpless.

It was not only Fushiguro Megumi. Although Yuji and Nobara had accepted Black Amber and treated her as a companion, they still regarded Black Amber as a cursed spirit.

Yuji also realized what Amber meant and scratched the back of his head apologetically. "That's true. You two have been in the same body since birth, so she is part of you too, Shier."

Fushiguro did not entirely agree, but to avoid making the girl sad, he nodded along as well.

"I think you two are more like twin sisters than two personalities."

Nobara had a different view, but her emotional intelligence was just as good. She did not say anything else about treating Black Amber as a curse.

Seeing how tactful they were, Black Amber felt a little better. It was not as though she was happy because Amber had argued to change other people's opinions of her. She was only slightly pleased because the people she had kindly warned and saved were not completely ungrateful.

In any case, what those humans thought of her did not matter. Amber was too foolish, actually trying to defend her and doing something so unnecessary.

She really was an idiot.

Unaware of Black Amber's thoughts, Amber sent Gojo Satoru a message in the group chat with everyone else, telling him that they were all safe and sound.

Though he had already learned the situation from Ijichi, Gojo Satoru was still delighted to receive the report from his students. He said he would bring them souvenirs when he returned from his business trip and reminded Fushiguro Megumi that the second-years would be returning soon.

This brush with death had produced a great deal of negative emotion, which strengthened the Cursed Energy of all three first-years. But they would not be so lucky every time. In most cases, they would simply die for real.

After such intense emotional ups and downs, all three were visibly exhausted. Since it was already nearly evening when they returned to Jujutsu High, the four of them ate dinner together before returning to their dorms.

No matter what, they really needed some rest.

Amber should originally have gone with Gojo Satoru after passing her assessment and dealt with the cursed spirits detected by the Windows nearby. But after the first-years were set up and the plan was interrupted, Gojo Satoru had no intention of making her go back.

Those cursed spirits were nothing more than a dish on his plate, easily dealt with at any time. Compared to that, Gojo Satoru was more worried that some other accident might occur among the first-years. Under those circumstances, Amber was the only one who could guarantee the safety of Jujutsu High's students.

Meanwhile, lying in bed, Amber could not help recalling the upcoming plot. Nanami and Mahito would probably appear next.

Unlike the last time in Uruk, she knew how the plot would unfold this time, so Amber did not feel particularly nervous. Thinking about dealing with Mahito early, she fell asleep just like that.

What she did not know was that Mahito had no time to cause trouble right now.

"Perfect! Absolutely perfect! You were born to be an idol!"

Watching the blue-haired girl standing on the stage, dressed with a sickly and slightly obsessive air, the talent scout's eyes gleamed. Even the many stitches across her body could not hide her beauty; instead, they added a touch of charm.

"I told you, the people under me are anything but ordinary."

Standing beside the talent scout, the Herrscher of Reason looked proud while shouting toward the stage, "Mahito! Work harder! Don't forget our shared aspiration!"

"Damn brat..."

Jogo gritted his teeth from his seat among the audience.

"To let a cursed spirit appear before humans and even raise a cursed spirit's grade... What exactly is this Heavenly Curse Spirit's technique?"