The Battle with Cursed Spirit Rika (Part 1)

"Rika, help me."

In the open space of the elementary school, where a barrier had been set up, Yuta Okkotsu faced Lin Yi's raised right fist and, for the first time, actively summoned his Special-Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit: Rika Orimoto.

Cursed energy surged from Yuta Okkotsu like crashing waves.

A huge, white, grotesque figure instantly appeared behind Yuta Okkotsu. At the very moment it manifested, Lin Yi sensed a vicious gust from his side.

All he could do was adjust his posture for the impact and raise his arms to block just before the gust reached him. Then, he was sent flying with a single blow.

His body crashed into the school building like a cannonball, blasting a crater into it as the shockwave shattered every window in the building.

The sound of breaking glass rang without end, but the white Cursed Spirit did not continue its attack. Instead, it circled Yuta Okkotsu, the one who had summoned it, repeatedly calling out her beloved's name.

"Yuta, Yuta~ Rika loves you the most~"

"Rika, I need your help."

Having summoned Rika Orimoto, the Special-Grade Vengeful Cursed Spirit that had been bound to him, Yuta Okkotsu no longer carried his usual fear. His voice was gentle as he boldly reached out and stroked Rika Orimoto's forehead.

Like a puppy responding to its master's affection, Cursed Spirit Rika grew even more excited beneath Yuta Okkotsu's hand.

Crack.

A sound came from the school building that had been smashed open, and Yuta Okkotsu instinctively looked toward it.

Lin Yi, whom Cursed Spirit Rika had just swatted away, stood unharmed at the edge of the hole. His crimson compound eyes fixed on Yuta Okkotsu, whose expression had changed drastically.

Well, it was not quite right to say unharmed. Lin Yi's Heavenly Tyrant: Kamen Rider Joker suit was covered in cracks, all damage inflicted by Rika Orimoto's slap.

But as Lin Yi stepped out of the hole, those cracks repaired themselves at a visible speed.

As Lin Yi looked at Yuta Okkotsu, who was being protected by Rika Orimoto, his surprise was about equal to Yuta Okkotsu's.

Good thing I'd used the Heavenly Tyrant: Kamen Rider form for this cameo. If I'd switched to my jujutsu sorcerer form, that slap probably would've taken me out.

"As expected of the Curse Queen praised even by Sukuna. Even this form's percentage-based cursed energy damage reduction for attacks above Grade 1 nearly failed to hold up. But the more this is the case, the greater my chances of mastering the Reversed Cursed Technique."

As Lin Yi thought this, he assumed an attacking stance.

Seeing this, Yuta Okkotsu glanced at Maki Zenin and Yuko Takagi lying beside him, then gave his Cursed Spirit Rika an order.

"Rika, cover me!"

"I'll do anything Yuta tells me to!"

Rika Orimoto moved. Her enormous body charged at Lin Yi with speed utterly disproportionate to her size. Under her impact, the elementary school building was nearly split in two.

But Cursed Spirit Rika's charge did not harm Lin Yi. With the speed boost granted by the Heavenly Tyrant: Kamen Rider form, Lin Yi had already dodged the attack and rushed straight toward Yuta Okkotsu in the open space.

"What are you trying to do to Yuta?"

Cursed Spirit Rika's voice rang out behind Lin Yi.

Rider Punch!

Lin Yi planted his feet, spun around, and threw a powerful punch that met Cursed Spirit Rika's fist, which was nearly as large as Lin Yi himself.

Boom!

The collision of their fists was like thunder exploding on level ground. The released shockwave swept dust high into the sky, while leaves throughout the campus rustled violently and fallen leaves danced through the air.

Within the dust cloud, Lin Yi could be seen sliding backward across the ground before barely managing to stop himself.

His Kamen Rider suit was once again covered in cracks.

"Don't hurt Yuta!"

Before Lin Yi could steady himself, Cursed Spirit Rika attacked again.

She drove her claws into the ground and flipped up the entire section where Lin Yi stood. Then, with a smash of her fist, the shattered stones became cannonballs under her immense strength and rained down densely upon him.

Lin Yi calmed himself and watched the rubble fly toward him like artillery shells. Time seemed to slow at that instant.

His fists flew, striking every stone headed his way with perfect precision and sending them back along their original trajectories to crash against Cursed Spirit Rika's massive body.

Then he stamped his foot down, exploding forward with teleportation-like speed and appearing directly in front of Cursed Spirit Rika. His right fist clenched, and he threw a punch.

Rider Punch!

The heavy Knight Punch broke the sound barrier as it struck Cursed Spirit Rika squarely in the abdomen, staggering her enormous body. But it did not trigger Black Flash.

"Rika!"

It was the first time Yuta Okkotsu had seen the Cursed Spirit formed from his childhood friend suffer a setback. He cried out in alarm, but Lin Yi had already flashed from Rika's side to appear before Yuta Okkotsu, swinging a left fist at his abdomen.

The dantian in the abdomen was the source from which a jujutsu sorcerer's cursed energy flowed. If it took a heavy blow, their cursed energy circulation would become disrupted, and they could even temporarily lose the ability to use cursed energy.

At the critical moment, Yuta Okkotsu recalled what he had learned at Jujutsu High and instinctively gathered cursed energy in his abdomen, taking Lin Yi's punch.

It was only because Yuta Okkotsu was currently in the test version and possessed nearly limitless cursed energy that he did not lose consciousness directly from Lin Yi's punch.

After sending Yuta Okkotsu flying with one punch, Lin Yi immediately sensed killing intent closing in.

Without a moment's hesitation, he rolled across the ground in an ungainly dodge, narrowly avoiding Cursed Spirit Rika's heavy strike from behind.

The ground was blasted into a huge crater. Cursed Spirit Rika's claws followed like a shadow, swinging again at the dodging Lin Yi.

Heavenly Tyrant: Kamen Rider form effect, Future Sight!

Lin Yi triggered the passive ability of this form. He had tested it before while helping Suguru Geto subjugate a Special-Grade Cursed Spirit. His Heavenly Tyrant was not innate; it was a transformation brought about by the effects of his own Cursed Technique.

It could be called an imitation.

But a certain great hero had once said that there was no rule saying an imitation could never surpass the original.

His Heavenly Tyrant form possessed the genuine article's ability to raise its lower limit, yet lacked its drawback of locking its upper limit. He had every mechanism a Heavenly Tyrant should have, along with mechanisms a Heavenly Tyrant did not possess. Future Sight was one such mechanism of Lin Yi's Heavenly Tyrant: Kamen Rider form.

Relying on the future images generated in his mind by instinct, Lin Yi dodged Cursed Spirit Rika's attacks in advance. His body, only as large as one of Cursed Spirit Rika's palms, weaved and shifted through her relentless assault.

Every dodge was like dancing on a blade's edge, yet it brought a different kind of experience to Lin Yi's body and mind.

The constant warning that one mistake would send him flying—or even see him beaten to death by Cursed Spirit Rika—continuously stimulated Lin Yi's brain, causing the Cursed Technique: Polarity Reversal engraved in his mind to operate at high speed.

It allowed him to better understand the key to triggering Black Flash in his current Heavenly Tyrant: Kamen Rider form.

Rider Punch!

Lin Yi planted his feet and unleashed a Knight Punch, which collided perfectly with Cursed Spirit Rika's palm. Black light erupted from his fist.

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