The space around Mishima seemed to warp. The air contracted sharply toward its center, as though clenched by an invisible hand-then came a tremendous shock wave.
The shock wave blasted out from beneath the bridge, plowing a deep trench through the ground. Dirt and rubble churned to either side, and everything in its path was ground to dust.
Caught by the blast, Mishima was hurled away like a kite with its string cut, slamming into another bridge pier in the distance and kicking up thick clouds of smoke.
As the smoke cleared, a giant cockroach cursed spirit knelt on one knee in front of Mishima, its left hand braced against the ground. Five armored fingers dug deep into the shattered concrete.
Both arms on its right side had been sheared off at the shoulders. Green blood still seeped from the severed wounds, and fragments of shell clung to their edges, trembling faintly with each breath. Cracks covered its carapace, deep and shallow fractures crisscrossing one another, with green blood occasionally spurting through the gaps.
Gu Yanzhi spat out a mouthful of green blood. Tiny bubbles rose in the viscous fluid as he lowered his head to look at Mishima, whom he had shielded beneath him.
The blood sprayed straight onto Mishima's face and trickled down the boy's cheeks.
Mishima was badly hurt as well. Although Gu Yanzhi had fully manifested to shield him at the crucial moment, he had still been half a beat too late-the residual shock wave had caught him. Blood streamed down the entire left side of his body, and he lay unconscious, with only the faint rise and fall of his chest proving that he still clung to life.
Gu Yanzhi diverted a little cursed energy to cover Mishima. An extremely thin layer of dark purple cursed energy enveloped the boy like a cocoon, protecting him from further injuries in the coming fight.
He turned to face the newcomer.
Takako Uro.
She had once commanded the Sun, Moon, and Stars Squad, an assassination unit directly under the Fujiwara clan during the Heian era. A thousand years of combat experience lay behind her cold eyes.
He had probably exposed Kurourushi's presence while fighting Dhruv Lakdawalla's shikigami earlier, allowing her to follow the trail straight to him.
Uro was studying Gu Yanzhi too. This bastard really is as hard to kill as an actual cockroach.
Earlier, she had picked up Kurourushi's presence and noticed that it seemed to be in a weakened state.
The balance between the so-called Four Heavenly Kings had already been shattered by the boy who had just arrived-Yuta Okkotsu's arrival had reshuffled the balance of power throughout the Sendai Colony. An all-out battle was inevitable.
And Kurourushi, the cursed spirit whose abilities countered hers most effectively among the Four Heavenly Kings, was currently weakened. Her years of combat experience led her to one conclusion.
Now is the best time to kill it.
To be safe, she had used her usual assassination tactics, sneaking right up beside it before striking. Yet its tenacity had surpassed her expectations. That Thin Ice Breaker had practically been fired point-blank; any other cursed spirit would have been obliterated, but it was still standing.
Watching Uro prepare to strike again at any moment, Gu Yanzhi marveled inwardly. She really lives up to being an assassination squad captain. I didn't notice her until she was right in my face. If the original Kurourushi had taken a point-blank Thin Ice Breaker in its weakened state, it might've died outright. Thank goodness the physique built up over my previous lives let me tank that hit.
Still, this isn't going to be an easy fight.
But since my rebirth, how many fights have ever gone smoothly?
Steadying his breathing, Gu Yanzhi addressed Uro. "Takako Uro. Your cursed technique is Sky Manipulation-the ability to manipulate three-dimensional space as a two-dimensional surface."
"My cursed technique lets me control cockroaches, along with this cursed tool." He twirled the Festering Life Sword in his hand.
"The Festering Life Sword, which causes parasitic eggs to develop inside anyone it cuts."
Revealing his cursed technique.
Gu Yanzhi immediately felt his cursed energy grow stronger. Infused with that energy, the cracks across his carapace temporarily stopped spreading.
Uro's eyes widened. Kurourushi was intelligent enough to reveal its cursed technique-and it had even explained hers first, cutting off her chance to do the same.
"Bastard." Uro cursed and shot forward, leaving an afterimage in the air. Both hands were already spread, her fingers slightly curled.
Gu Yanzhi spread his wings and took flight as well. Cockroach wings unfolded through the gaps in his carapace, lifting his body, over three meters tall, into the air. An overwhelming swarm followed behind him, a moving black cloud blotting out the remaining sunlight above the bridge opening.
Uro tugged with both hands, grasping space like a length of cloth, then yanked it hard. Although Gu Yanzhi was airborne, he felt his footing slip, as though a rug had been pulled out from beneath him. His body flew backward uncontrollably.
Gu Yanzhi exclaimed inwardly, What an incredible technique. It doesn't feel like being knocked away-I've completely lost my spatial bearings. It's as if the "ground" beneath my feet suddenly vanished.
Seeing Gu Yanzhi lose his balance, Uro shot toward him, intending to follow up with another Thin Ice Breaker.
But Gu Yanzhi had a counter ready. A mountain of black cockroaches surged toward Uro from every direction.
Uro's Sky Manipulation targeted points and surfaces, while Kurourushi's swarm attacked from every angle at once, making it a natural counter to her technique. She could not defend against or retaliate against enemies in every direction simultaneously.
Uro clicked her tongue and fired the Thin Ice Breaker gathering in her hand into the swarm on one side.
The shock wave blasted open a gap, scattering cockroach remains in all directions, and she escaped through the opening.
The cockroaches regrouped around Gu Yanzhi, circling him in a dense black mass.
Gu Yanzhi was about to make his next move when his body abruptly seized.
He coughed a mouthful of green blood from his mouthparts, splattering his own chest plate. His flight grew unsteady, his wingbeats visibly slowed, and he dropped some distance.
Uro caught the movement immediately. Seizing her chance, she flashed forward until she was right in front of Gu Yanzhi, another Thin Ice Breaker gathering in her palm.
Gu Yanzhi reacted just as quickly, slashing at her with the Festering Life Sword. Its edge carved a pitch-black arc through the air.
At the same time, his other remaining hand drove forward in a heavy punch.
Uro smiled disdainfully. With one hand, she pulled at space to divert the Festering Life Sword's path. With the other, she maintained her Thin Ice Breaker and aimed it straight at the wound on Gu Yanzhi's right shoulder.
Splitting her efforts weakened the attack somewhat, but its angle placed it precisely over the wound where his arms had been severed. That would be enough to seriously injure this stubborn cockroach.
As for the punch, she chose to ignore it. Aside from her attack being faster, his physical strength had already diminished considerably. Even if he hit her, her cursed energy defenses would make it nothing to fear.
But that played right into Gu Yanzhi's plan.
It was a trick he had just learned. Although his physical condition was genuinely poor, he had deliberately held back when displaying his flying speed and other abilities.
Every time he coughed blood, it was real. But every movement he made when he was not coughing blood was an act, designed to make Uro underestimate his physical strength.
His fist suddenly accelerated. For one instant, his body moved faster than cursed energy could react.
The punch struck Uro faster than her Thin Ice Breaker could land, shattering the cursed energy defenses covering her body.
His fist slammed into her abdomen, the impact traveling through muscle and bone to her back. Uro's eyes rolled back, and she flew away like a kite with its string cut, smashing through several already tottering buildings before crashing into a half-collapsed tower.
Chunks of concrete and steel rebar rained down from above, burying her in the rubble. She clawed her way out in a sorry state and spat out blood, her long pink hair coated in dust and gravel.
"That bastard played me," she muttered, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
Gu Yanzhi flew over immediately and drove a fist into the spot where Uro had just stood, blasting a deep crater into the ground.
Rubble scattered, but the blow missed. Uro had already dodged and was floating nearby. Her breathing was still uneven, but her movements had regained their former lightness.
Gu Yanzhi gave a faint smile. The fight was beginning to move at his pace.
Cockroaches had already surrounded the building, sealing every exit above, below, and on either side with writhing black swarms.
In this confined space, Sky Manipulation was limited, while his swarm could attack from any angle. Here, he had the advantage.
Uro realized it too and swore under her breath.
Their battle resumed. As Gu Yanzhi launched his assaults, he continually used the cockroach swarm to obstruct Uro's sight and movements from every angle.
After several probing exchanges, Gu Yanzhi involuntarily coughed up another mouthful of blood, and the cracks in his chest plate widened further.
Uro closed in again. Gu Yanzhi repeated his earlier maneuver, attacking with both the Festering Life Sword and his fist. The blade hacked straight toward her shoulder while his other hand clenched into a fist and drove toward her face.
"You think I'd fall for the same trick twice?!" Uro shouted. Her left hand pulled at space, and Gu Yanzhi felt the hand holding the Festering Life Sword suddenly go slack. The sword slipped from his grip and spun upward into the air.
And this time, Uro did not aim at his existing wound. Instead, she targeted his incoming fist.
"I'm taking that hand."
"Thin Ice Breaker!"
Gu Yanzhi's mind raced in those fractions of a second. An expert like Uro would not fall for the same trick twice. He had expected that.
But faced with the actual choice, he still hesitated briefly-should he pull away to save his arm, or press the attack and gamble on who was faster?
The Festering Life Sword was already out of his hand. If his left arm was shattered too, he would truly be reduced to a punching bag. But retreating now would destroy the momentum he had worked so hard to build.
Although Uro's attack was aimed at his arm, it would also punch through the swarm. If he dodged, she would probably seize that opening to escape the encirclement.
In that instant of hesitation, a figure leaped out of the cockroach swarm.
And caught the airborne Festering Life Sword firmly.
"Do it!"
"Mr. Gu!!"
Before you continue