Suguru Geto's First Special Grade Pokémon

Once Eiji joined the battle, the situation on the field immediately changed.

Previously, afraid of getting hurt, Eiji had only engaged the Demon Cursed Spirit briefly before pulling away, mainly aiming to disrupt its movements.

But now things were different.

Having mastered the Reverse Cursed Technique and no longer needing to worry about injuries, Eiji's attacks became increasingly fierce.

Under the combined assault of one person and two Shikigami, fresh wounds continuously appeared across the Demon Cursed Spirit's body.

"Hiss!"

A rough, hoarse sound rang out. The Black Mist around the Demon Cursed Spirit gathered toward its body before suddenly exploding outward.

The unexpected development put Eiji on guard.

As he retreated, a figure suddenly appeared before him.

"Geto?"

Suguru Geto's sudden appearance made Eiji hesitate for an instant, but he quickly swung his blade again.

Eiji knew Suguru Geto would not suddenly rush in front of him without knowing the situation, much less attack him.

Squelch.

To Eiji's surprise, the Tang Dao pierced "Suguru Geto's" palm, only for the other party to grip the blade tightly.

Then "Suguru Geto" lashed out with a roundhouse kick at Eiji's waist.

Eiji raised his arm to block, but "Suguru Geto's" immense strength sent him flying. The Tang Dao was also thrown into the distance.

As Eiji warily watched "Suguru Geto," "Suguru Geto's" body turned black and twisted, then transformed into Eiji's own appearance before him.

The Black Mist came quickly and vanished just as quickly. Tiger Funeral and Nue, who had been about to attack, stopped in confusion.

The Demon Cursed Spirit had disappeared from the field, leaving only two "Eijis" exchanging blows.

The two Eijis had identical builds and appearances, identical methods of attack, even identical Cursed Energy signatures.

But Tiger Funeral and Nue quickly distinguished which one was the real Eiji.

Through the connection between the Heroic Spirit Chess Pieces Eiji had previously used to strengthen them, Tiger Funeral and Nue identified their master.

The Eiji created by the Demon Cursed Spirit was nearly identical to the real one. Even those closest to him would not have been able to tell them apart in a short time.

But it was ultimately a fake. It had not formed contracts with Eiji's Shikigami, much less possessed the connection brought by the Heroic Spirit Chess Pieces.

Since the enemy had become smaller, Tiger Funeral and Nue switched from long-range spell bombardment to close combat to avoid accidentally hurting Eiji.

Tiger Funeral's claws, wrapped in wind blades, tore through the Demon Cursed Spirit's defenses again and again.

Nue's dives from above forced the Demon Cursed Spirit to keep dodging.

Unlike the utterly bedraggled Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Eiji felt exceptionally good at that moment—better than he ever had before.

Every move he had learned before flowed from Eiji's hands. Techniques that had once been rather pleasing to watch became increasingly concise and deadly.

In Eiji's eyes, everything in the world seemed to have slowed several times over, and he could see every movement of his enemy with unparalleled clarity.

Its bent body, the fist coming from behind, the corner of its clothes stirred by the wind, and the twisted face of the Eiji the Cursed Spirit had transformed into.

At that moment, Eiji felt that nothing in the world could escape his senses, as though he had become the center of the world.

Black Flash!

His clenched right fist shot toward the Cursed Spirit's chest.

Black Cursed Energy flashed in Eiji's hand.

Pop.

The Black Flash, though launched later, struck first and punched through the Cursed Spirit's chest.

"Hiss!"

The Demon Cursed Spirit let out a hoarse, miserable cry.

Gravely wounded, the Demon Cursed Spirit could no longer maintain Eiji's appearance and reverted to its ugly six-meter-tall form.

Eiji did not pursue. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at his right hand.

"So this is Black Flash."

Black Flash was a critical hit unleashed when the timing difference between a Jujutsu Sorcerer's physical attack and the impact of their Cursed Energy was within 0.0000001 seconds.

In other words, when a physical strike and a Cursed Energy strike landed almost simultaneously, the attack dealt damage raised to the power of 2.5 compared to its original strength.

The tremendous force of Black Flash could even distort space when it inflicted damage.

After landing Black Flash, Eiji felt better than ever. The Cursed Energy that normally required careful control now flowed as smoothly as breathing, every strand moving according to his will.

Eiji could even sense the "taste" of Cursed Energy.

The Cursed Energy within him carried the taste of anger, while the purple-black blood left on his hand by that Special Grade Cursed Spirit exuded a malicious sense of satisfaction.

"The taste of falsehood and deception."

"Hiss!"

A pained cry rang out. The Demon Cursed Spirit's mangled body began to tremble, releasing Cursed Spirits one after another from within itself. Soon, nearly a hundred Low-level Cursed Spirits had appeared across the field.

Almost all were humanoid Grade 4 Cursed Spirits, with a few around Grade 3.

Every Cursed Spirit wore a spine-chilling smile on its twisted face.

As if they had been utterly satisfied before death.

"So this is your true nature: using false illusions to deceive humans, then enslaving their souls within your body."

"Useless struggle."

Even with so many enemies appearing before him, Eiji's calm expression remained unchanged.

A pack of trash Cursed Spirits posed no threat at all to the current Eiji.

Tiger Funeral and Nue began attacking.

One humanoid Cursed Spirit after another turned to ash amid the gale and Thunder.

Expressionless, Eiji walked up to the Demon Cursed Spirit. He sidestepped its attack, then drove a punch into the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's head.

Straight punches, jabs, roundhouse kicks...

Attack after attack landed on the Special Grade Cursed Spirit, while none of the Demon Cursed Spirit's counterattacks struck their mark.

Black Flash!

The second Black Flash landed, opening another gaping hole in the Special Grade Cursed Spirit's body. Its ruined body finally collapsed.

Ignoring the Demon Cursed Spirit struggling to crawl away across the ground, Eiji turned his head to look behind him.

"You're too slow. If you'd come any later, your Special Grade Pokémon would have been gone."

Perhaps because victory was already in hand, or perhaps because Suguru Geto had arrived, Eiji gradually emerged from that strange state.

"Are you okay, Eiji?"

Suguru Geto looked at Eiji with some concern.

Eiji was covered in blood, and his clothes were badly torn in many places.

"I'm fine. I mastered the Reverse Cursed Technique, so my injuries have already healed."

After speaking, Eiji turned to look at the Demon Cursed Spirit struggling to crawl across the ground.

"Deal with this guy first. Then tell us what's going on with those two behind you."

As he spoke, Eiji's gaze settled on the Crimson Figure and the Cursed Spirit beside her that looked very much like her.

Tiger Funeral stood behind Eiji, while Ferocious Dog had somehow blocked their retreat.

"Mm, got it."

Suguru Geto did not waste words. Passing Eiji, he activated his Technique and turned the Demon Cursed Spirit into a blackish-purple Cursed Spirit Jade, then swallowed it with his back to Eiji.

Still carrying that lingering sensation of near-omniscience, Eiji vaguely sensed Suguru Geto struggling to control his body and suppress the urge to vomit.

"It's over."

A few minutes later, Suguru Geto, who had completely subdued the Special Grade Demon Cursed Spirit, turned around and stood beside Eiji.

"Aren't you going to tell us about your situation?"

Suguru Geto looked at the two sisters surrounded by Shikigami, as well as Kenji, who had been escorted over by his Cursed Spirits, and the girl inside the Coffin.