The two stopped talking as they hurried through the deepening dusk.
Twenty minutes later, they reached the dilapidated shrine on the hillside. Before they even approached, scorching, savage cursed energy washed over them, making the air ripple slightly. A dark red glow flickered faintly from the main hall.
"This is the place." Nanami stopped before the torii, his cloth-wrapped short blade steadily coated in cursed energy.
"Stay close. Watch for flames and sudden physical impacts. Its attack range could be considerable."
Mashiro nodded, her right hand gripping Murasame's hilt tightly.
Click, click. The Dharma Wheel above her head activated and began spinning faster.
She could feel the cursed energy racing excitedly through her body, her wounds itching as they healed. Deep within her soul, an instinct inherited from Mahoraga was awakening-a hunger to clash with powerful opponents-and she, too, began to burn with excitement.
"Hey," she said, staring toward the main hall with a grin, "don't get my hopes up too much, okay?"
They passed through the torii and entered the shrine grounds. The heat intensified abruptly. On the stone paving before the main hall, a humanoid cursed spirit roughly three meters tall slowly rose.
Its body was composed of magma and rock, with a dark red, searing glow flowing through the cracks across its surface.
It had no head. A mass of flames burned above its neck, radiating terrifying heat, while its thick arms ended in fists coated with hardened lava.
Even standing still, the Blazing Inferno Monk exuded pressure far beyond that of any cursed spirit Mashiro had encountered before.
It looked at the intruders, and the flames above its neck suddenly flared.
Without warning, its enormous lava right fist punched through the air toward Nanami at the front!
A dark red pillar of fire tore through the air, sweeping toward them with devastating heat.
"Dodge!" Nanami barked, darting sideways. At the same time, his short blade traced an arc of light, sending a cursed-energy slash into the side of the fire pillar in an attempt to deflect it.
Mashiro ignored him. The strong always faced a challenge head-on!
The instant the pillar of fire struck, she did not retreat. Instead, she channeled cursed energy into her legs and charged toward the cursed spirit's flank, closing the distance.
"Too reckless!" Nanami frowned when he caught sight of her movement, but it was already too late to stop her.
Enraged by Mashiro's actions, the Blazing Inferno Monk swept its left fist toward her with speed that belied its massive frame. Before the fist even reached her, the violent gust and scorching heat it carried stole her breath.
"Come on!"
Mashiro neither dodged nor backed away. She held Murasame across her body, poured cursed energy into it, and chose to take the punch head-on. The Dharma Wheel spun above her head. It was time to start adapting!
Clang-!!!
A terrifying crash erupted. Mashiro felt as though she had been hit by a truck. The arm gripping Murasame shook violently, the web of her hand split open, and blood streamed out.
The tremendous force lifted her feet off the ground and hurled her backward, slamming her into a stone lantern more than ten meters away!
"Gah!" She coughed up a small mouthful of blood. Her back hurt so badly that it had gone numb. She had no idea how many bones had broken, and her right arm hung limply, unable to exert any strength for the moment.
"Kujou!" Nanami shouted sharply, trying to drive the cursed spirit back so he could reach her.
"Don't worry about me!" Mashiro shouted hoarsely instead. She struggled to push herself upright with her left hand, her crimson eyes reflecting the Blazing Inferno Monk as it lunged at her again.
Whir, whir, whir. The Dharma Wheel above her head spun furiously.
Come on! I'm spinning now!
Kento Nanami was astonished to discover that she was actually smiling.
Blood still clung to Mashiro's lips, but her eyes shone fiercely as she shouted, "Satisfied already? Come at me again!"
Her taunt utterly enraged the Blazing Inferno Monk. Its flames surged, both fists blazing as it brought them crashing down on Mashiro. Heat spread in every direction, warping even the air.
Mashiro did not flee. Dragging her temporarily useless right arm, she poured cursed energy into her legs and, at the last possible moment, slipped perilously through the gap between its fists.
Flames grazed her body, instantly scorching her tracksuit black and setting it alight. Burning pain tore through her skin, but she paid it no heed. The Dharma Wheel turned as her body adapted to the terrifying heat and savage physical impacts.
"Space Cutting!" Mashiro's cursed energy surged. Several slashes cut at the Blazing Inferno Monk's arms and legs, attempting to hinder its movement, but they had little effect.
Tch, a cursed technique that works so well on people barely does anything to rock!
Mashiro clicked her tongue and landed farther back, preparing a second attack.
At that moment, Kento Nanami moved. His Ratio Technique revealed the weak points on the Blazing Inferno Monk's body.
"Sever!" he called sharply, delivering two swift cuts to the same point and severing the Blazing Inferno Monk's right leg.
"Nice work, Nanami!"
Mashiro laughed loudly, her silver hair streaming in the wind as her eyes grew ever redder. She raised Murasame again and attacked its left leg.
"Is that all? That's the best your flames can do? You're the challenger here!" She dodged its relentless punches and intermittent pillars of fire as she closed in, constantly provoking it with her words.
Every time a gust from its fists grazed her, every time its flames burned her, she gritted her teeth and suppressed the pain, letting her body adapt further.
Her movements grew increasingly fluid. At first, she could only barely evade fatal attacks, accumulating burns and bruises all over her body.
Gradually, she began to anticipate the paths of its punches and evade before its flames erupted.
The heat affected her less and less. Her skin's resistance to fire slowly increased, and her body instinctively adjusted its hardness to withstand those heavy physical impacts.
A little faster... she silently urged, her crimson eyes locked on the cursed spirit's movements. The bones in her right arm had already knitted back together through cursed energy and her healing ability. Though waves of intense pain remained, she could now exert strength without hindrance.
Unable to finish her off despite its relentless attacks, the Blazing Inferno Monk grew increasingly frenzied. It abruptly stopped pursuing her and brought its hands together before its chest. Flames poured wildly into the space between them as a dark red fireball radiating destructive power rapidly formed and expanded!
It's going for its big move!
Mashiro tensed inwardly, then broke into another expectant smile. Her adaptation was nearly complete!
"Danger! Fall back!" Nanami's expression changed. He had been trying to sever its limbs all this time, with little success.
Although he could strike its weak points, he kept failing to cut through. Any gashes he carved were restored, and this attack's range and power were clearly no trivial matter.
Yet Mashiro stared at the fireball and advanced instead of retreating.
"Yes! That's it! Things would get boring if you kept plodding along like before!" Laughing wildly, she poured all the cursed energy she had just managed to recover into Murasame. Its gleaming silver blade hummed as she charged toward the center of the fireball on the verge of erupting!
She intended to use Murasame's ability to sever cursed energy to cleave its fireball apart!
"Are you insane?!"
Nanami could no longer afford to hesitate. He blurred toward the cursed spirit's side, his short blade carrying a tremendous amount of cursed energy as he thrust straight at its arm joint, trying to interrupt the attack.
Despite the greater threat Nanami posed, the Blazing Inferno Monk ignored him entirely. Even at the cost of losing an arm, it violently hurled the fireball packed with terrifying cursed energy toward Mashiro as she charged straight at it!
The enormous fireball hurtled toward her, threatening to annihilate everything. Mashiro raised Murasame high with both hands, poured all her cursed energy into it, and slashed down with fury!
The instant the fireball met the gleaming blade, searing light swallowed everything.
Before you continue