Those compound eyes left no room for doubt

A figure slowly emerged from the dark mass of insects.

Uro's eyes widened in disbelief.

Those compound eyes left no room for doubt-

It was Kurourushi.

"Why?!"

Her gaze darted twice between the Cursed Spirit before her and Gu Yanzhi's corpse, which had already turned to ash amid the ruins.

That mangled body had completely disintegrated under the bombardment of Thin Ice Breaker. Fragments of carapace and severed limbs were dissolving into tiny motes of light in the air, and even the last trace of cursed energy had faded.

Yet the Kurourushi before her was identical to the previous one in size, the patterns on its carapace, and the cursed energy it gave off.

She swore. What the hell? This bastard actually had another trick up his sleeve?

Just as in the original story, Kurourushi had reproduced asexually during its dormancy, before Gu Yanzhi took over its body.

Kurourushi was a special grade Cursed Spirit born from humanity's collective fear of cockroaches. The cursed energy of that fear would not disappear with the destruction of a single body. Once the parent was destroyed, that cursed energy, born from the fear of all humanity, would transfer directly to the offspring it had laid beforehand.

Thus, the Kurourushi before her was no longer Gu Yanzhi. Gu Yanzhi's consciousness had completely dissipated when the previous body died.

He had truly died-and was waiting in System Space for the final tally as "Gu Yanzhi."

The creature before her was Kurourushi, returning to the battlefield as a Cursed Spirit-a pure, bloodthirsty monster free of any human consciousness's control.

Kurourushi fixed its gaze on Uro and swooped toward her with a mountain of insects in tow.

Countless cockroaches formed a black torrent in the air, the rustling of their scraping carapaces deafening.

Uro knew she was in trouble. Her Cursed Technique was still burned out, leaving Sky Manipulation temporarily unusable.

She was exposed to the enemy's attacks like a sitting duck, unable to distort space to evade them or use Thin Ice Breaker to strike back.

All she could do was push her cursed energy output to its limit, raising a spectral blue defensive barrier around herself while keeping her eyes locked on the diving Kurourushi, trying to find an opening to attack it through the swarm.

But luck was not on her side. Kurourushi gave her no chance to turn this into "Punch Kaisen."

The mountain of insects pressed down on her first, battering her cursed energy defenses from every angle-above, behind, and on both sides. Cockroaches filled every direction. Her barrier gave off a piercing scraping sound under their assault, its spectral blue light flickering with every impact.

Then Kurourushi's attack came. The familiar Festering Life Sword appeared in its hand, and without any fancy movements, it simply swung down at the arm Uro held in front of herself.

The Festering Life Sword broke through her defenses. The spectral blue barrier shattered like glass beneath its edge, and the blade carried straight into Uro's arm. Its chitinous edge cleaved through bone, severing her left arm at the elbow.

The severed arm spun through the air and landed on the rubble, its fingers still twitching faintly.

Uro's entire face twisted in agony, and her cursed energy defenses weakened further.

But she did not hesitate-the instant the Festering Life Sword struck her, she made her decision. Gritting her teeth, she gathered cursed energy in her still-functional right hand and cut away the muscle tissue around the wound, stripping off a full ring of skin and flesh. She flung the tissue containing the insect eggs away before it could hit the ground.

At the same time, Kurourushi's fist came at her. That carapace-covered fist carried no tactical thought, only pure destructive force.

Several heavy punches slammed squarely into Uro-her chest, abdomen, and shoulder. The final blow sent her flying straight back like a cannonball, smashing through a ruined wall. Rubble and dust exploded into the air, and she only stopped after slamming hard into another wall.

Uro leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Wounds of every size covered her body-her left arm was gone, several ribs were broken, and every breath brought a sharp stab of pain. Her Cursed Technique remained burned out, and she felt her body beginning to give out.

Uro slumped to the ground with her back against the cold wall, watching the swarm and Kurourushi draw ever closer. The Cursed Spirit raised the Festering Life Sword, ready to deliver the final blow.

Her life began flashing through her mind: the Sun, Moon, and Stars Squad a thousand years ago, assassination missions for the Fujiwara clan, her rebirth through incarnation after death, and the chaotic battles in the Sendai Colony.

So much for getting another life-dying at the hands of a cockroach. It certainly suited the absurdity of her entire existence.

Just before Kurourushi's next strike landed, a long slash appeared in front of Uro.

The slash swept across the ground, cutting through the oncoming swarm and driving it back several meters with its force. Okkotsu arrived with a sword in hand and a child cradled in his arms. The white light of Reverse Cursed Technique shimmered around his hand, slowly spreading over a wound on the child's body.

Okkotsu's clothes were somewhat torn, his white uniform covered in dust and bloodstains. Several scorched marks remained on his arms, as though he had taken a direct hit from some high-temperature Cursed Technique.

Okkotsu gently set the child down on a relatively level patch of ground and straightened up. He glanced at Uro, slumped beside the wall-an arm severed, her body covered in wounds, but still alive-then looked at the rampaging Kurourushi. He knew he had arrived too late.

A pained expression crossed Okkotsu's face as he spoke slowly.

"Someone who joined the fight midway held me up for a while. Looks like I still got here too late. I really can't do what Gojo-sensei does, can I?"

He turned to Uro behind him, his voice calm again, though the guilt had not entirely faded from his eyes.

"I'll heal you with Reverse Cursed Technique afterward, but I'd also like you to transfer your points to me."

Uro gave a sound of assent. She had no strength to say anything more, nor any room to bargain-Okkotsu had just saved her life. Besides, a sorcerer missing an arm, grievously wounded, and still suffering Cursed Technique burnout had no right to refuse a Special Grade.

Okkotsu put away his sword and called out to Kurourushi, "Mr. Gu, can you hear me?"

Kurourushi did not answer his question. Okkotsu's figure was reflected in its compound eyes, but there was no recognition, no response, only pure hunger. It shouted unintelligible gibberish-hoarse and indistinct, every syllable seemingly forced through the gaps in its carapace, forming neither sentences nor meaning.

Kurourushi lunged, raising its sword as it attacked Okkotsu.

Okkotsu drew his sword. As he watched the cockroach Cursed Spirit charging toward him, there was no fear or anger in his eyes, only a profound regret.

He knew the Cursed Spirit before him was no longer the "Mr. Gu" Mishima had spoken of. The man who had saved Mishima's life and taught him to use cursed energy was gone.

Okkotsu took his stance and spoke slowly.

"I'm sorry."