The Feel Came to Him, So to Speak

However, even as he said that, before Kana Shizumi could launch an attack, he had already tilted his head to the side.

A searing beam skimmed past his cheek, vanishing with lingering heat...

This Burning Beam, carrying both cursed energy and intense heat, was likely an attack that combined two different properties.

Kana Shizumi silently raised his right hand and pressed his palm against the side of his face, rubbing it as he did so.

The pain was not too obvious, but he could tell that his skin had been burned to some extent... If not for the powerful recovery of his half-human, half-cursed-spirit physique, this might have left a scar.

Damn it, he had nearly become Burn Scar Bro!

Even as he lamented it, Kana Shizumi wore a thoughtful expression.

"As an offensive method, using only cursed energy for surface-level defense means overlooking the effects of high temperatures..."

So he could not afford to cut corners there.

If he wanted to confront it head-on, he had to cover his body with Cursed Energy Reinforcement to completely block this kind of attack.

Then... what about his reserves?

[Cursed Energy Total: 44 (Cursed Tool bonus +5)]—roughly the average level of a Grade 2 Sorcerer.

It was not enough to sustain a prolonged battle, but as long as he did not cast cursed techniques too frequently, he would not really run into an issue of insufficient endurance.

With that in mind, Kana Shizumi watched Mechamaru emerge from the dense forest one after another, his expression turning faintly rueful.

His opponent was a Semi-Grade 1 Sorcerer, had the boost of a Heavenly Restriction, and their real body was nowhere nearby...

Winning was impossible. After all, Kana Shizumi did not possess the ability to suppress someone from afar.

Fortunately, his goal was merely to make the other side realize how troublesome he was.

The person in question immediately came up with the corresponding countermeasures and plan.

"Then let's see what you're made of."

After muttering that, the blood aura around Kana Shizumi suddenly drew inward!

The instantaneous boost covered the area around his body with a thin layer resembling a transparent shield.

At the same time, Kana Shizumi's speed rose to a level nearly impossible to catch with the naked eye!

Far away in an unknown location, Kokichi Muta's breathing tightened slightly as he recognized the problem.

"He reinforced his body with cursed energy..."

"He's fast, but not fast enough that I can't keep up at all..."

"Is his goal to get close? But that has no meaning. My real body isn't here, so he can't possibly carry out a decapitation strike."

Making a judgment in a short time and selecting the most appropriate option among countless branches—this was the combat standard of a first-rate sorcerer.

"This guy is charging right into the field I excel in... Does he want to walk into a trap? Fine, let's try it!"

Kokichi Muta's emotions rarely fluctuated, but at this moment, half of his body submerged in the life-support apparatus bent forward slightly. Without even realizing it himself, he revealed a faintly ferocious expression.

"Charge! Suppress him!"

The command was issued, and through a cursed technique connection, the functional systems of every puppet activated in an instant as though they were electrical appliances.

Scarlet eyeballs began flashing brightly one after another as the mechanical puppets at the front surged toward Kana Shizumi in a relentless wave.

The two sides collided in an instant.

Kana Shizumi narrowed his eyes. Looking at the nearest mechanical puppet, he gave it a brief thought before suddenly accelerating his forward charge by another third!

His rushing figure whipped out his right hand like a lash, tearing through the air and smashing brutally into the puppet's face.

Smack!!!

As the crisp crack rang out, the mechanical puppet's head shattered on impact, breaking into debris that scattered everywhere.

Excuse me.

Kana Shizumi slipped past it and charged into the puppet horde.

How was that possible?!

A flash of astonishment passed through Kokichi Muta's mind.

No one knew the strength of those mechanical puppets better than he did. Though they were made of wood, their structure was exceptionally sturdy... and under his control, the puppets could also receive Cursed Energy Reinforcement.

How could something of that level be smashed apart in a single exchange?

"Did something happen that I failed to see or notice...?"

As his thoughts churned, the gazes of countless mechanical puppets converged.

Nearly a hundred mechanical eyes contracted in unison, capturing images like high-frame-rate cameras for Kokichi Muta to analyze and make further judgments.

Then, he "saw" it.

A layer of blood-red crystalline material wrapped around Kana Shizumi's hands.

—What was that?

A brief question surfaced in his mind, and at the same time, he rapidly considered the information available to make a judgment.

"A blood-red coagulation... Is it some derivative application of Crimson Blood Manipulation?"

"But Kamo Noritoshi never mentioned it before... No, that's not how I should think about this."

"If it's a secret technique passed down privately, then not revealing it would be the proper norm!"

And that was indeed the case.

The technique Kana Shizumi was using now was precisely the skill Itadori and Choso had used in their first battle at the subway station in the original work.

Blood Armor: Double-Hand Covering.

Crimson Blood Manipulation could control and direct blood. Among its applications, one involved extracting blood driven by cursed energy, hardening it, and then directly coating the surface of the body...

It was one of the most basic and simple methods of application.

But simple did not mean weak.

In fact, this was instead one of the strongest applications of Crimson Blood Manipulation.

Blood Armor's defensive power was obvious to all. Both Choso and Kamo Noritoshi had used this move to preserve their lives against powerful enemies.

And applying Blood Armor to both hands created an attack-focused method even more violent than Cursed Energy Reinforcement.

"By covering himself with Blood Armor, Choso could turn around a close-combat fight that had originally put him at a disadvantage... He could even punch Itadori so hard his eyes rolled back."

Without question, that boost in strength was already close to a leap across ranks.

And Kana Shizumi was the same right now.

Blowing apart a mechanical puppet rated slightly above Semi-Grade 1 with one punch was no trouble at all!

As for the information gap involved, if Kana Shizumi had known what Kokichi Muta was thinking, he probably would not have been able to stop himself from laughing.

—Kamo Noritoshi told you that I can beat up Grade 1 Sorcerers just by covering my body in blood.

Would you tell me you believed him?

Crimson Blood Manipulation's usage was extremely straightforward. Before experiencing it personally, very few people could understand its power.

After his thoughts rose and fell for a moment, Kana Shizumi had already reached the next wave of puppets.

Two on each side...

The whip-like punch from before had conveniently canceled out his previous forward momentum, leaving him with nowhere to borrow force from.

But that was not a problem at all, because he had gotten the feel for it!