Special-grade Imaginary Cursed Tool

Elsewhere, Yoshinobu Gakuganji sat in his chair, watching the scene with a grim expression.

"Two special-grade students, turning the Goodwill Event upside down."

"Who knows what the outside world will think of our Jujutsu High."

Utahime Iori frowned when she heard that.

"Principal, that's not fair. They're still only students."

"And so far, neither of them has shown any signs of losing control."

Gakuganji snorted.

"No signs of losing control?"

"You must have felt the enormous surge of cursed energy Dai Li unleashed on school grounds just now."

"A student hiding his true cursed technique and cursed energy until the Goodwill Event finals."

"Do you think that's normal?"

Utahime Iori fell silent for a moment.

Dai Li's cursed technique had indeed surprised her.

But looking at the boy on the screen, who still hadn't hurt Okkotsu despite possessing overwhelming power, she couldn't simply label him dangerous.

"At least for now, neither of them has done anything wrong."

Utahime Iori spoke.

"The people we should truly be wary of aren't those who possess power."

"They're those who don't know how to use it."

The room fell briefly silent.

Mei Mei chuckled.

"For once, Miss Utahime has said something sensible."

"Still..."

Mei Mei opened her eyes slightly and looked at the screen.

"We should have the outcome of this fight soon."

The students had also gathered around the monitor.

Noritoshi Kamo of Kyoto Jujutsu High wore a grave expression.

He had witnessed Okkotsu's strength firsthand, so he now understood what Okkotsu was up against.

"Yuta Okkotsu is already incredibly strong."

"But if this is all he has..."

He didn't finish.

Aoi Todo folded his arms, watching the two on the screen intently.

"Just as I thought."

"Both of these guys are men I respect."

"Ugh, why did they even invite us to this Goodwill Event? They might as well have just had those two monsters from Tokyo Jujutsu High fight each other."

Momo Nishimiya hugged her broom and complained with a pout. In her eyes, the only reason those two hadn't wiped out Kyoto Jujutsu High instantly during the team event was that they had felt like playing around.

Beside her, Mechamaru, whose lower body was damaged, silently analyzed the combat data while his operator, Kokichi Muta, ran calculations behind the scenes.

"Dai Li's total cursed energy, his cursed energy efficiency..."

"All of them have reached abnormal levels. Yuta Okkotsu falls slightly short."

"If this fight continues, the outcome will depend on who exposes an opening first."

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Dai Li and Okkotsu clashed again on the screen.

Red and pink cursed energy erupted simultaneously as their figures crossed in the center of the wasteland.

Out in the wasteland, the sound of the wind gradually faded.

Most of the cursed tools that had been clashing moments earlier had dissipated, and the remaining broken ones no longer maintained their manifested forms.

Red and pink cursed energy still swirled around the two of them. Both knew that what came next would no longer be a simple contest of cursed techniques.

Dai Li held his longsword with its tip lowered slightly, red cursed energy flowing slowly over his body.

The large-scale Projection hadn't noticeably depleted his cursed energy. Even under the restrictions of "Life and Binding: Tempering," his total cursed energy for this fight was still two-thirds greater than Yuta Okkotsu's, though Okkotsu also had Rika Orimoto supplying him with an endless stream of cursed energy.

But Yuta Okkotsu's cursed energy control is still crude, making his output inefficient. He has to expend a lot of cursed energy to land an effective attack on me.

No more dragging this out. I'll try to settle it in one move.

Yuta Okkotsu wasn't in nearly as good a state as Dai Li. He had wounds on his face and abdomen, and the shoulder injury he'd sustained at the start was also affecting him.

Yuta Okkotsu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and tightened his grip on his sword again.

Behind him, Rika gave a low growl, her enormous body shielding his back.

But this time, Okkotsu didn't have Rika charge straight in.

Yuta Okkotsu tightened his grip on his sword and slowly took a step forward.

Rika didn't attack immediately. Instead, she remained behind him, her enormous body slightly hunched, as though waiting for his command.

"Rika, this time... leave it to me."

Okkotsu spoke softly.

The next moment, Rika growled, and an enormous amount of pink cursed energy wrapped around Okkotsu.

Unlike before, when he'd relied entirely on Rika to overwhelm his opponent, this time Okkotsu chose to fully merge his strength with hers.

Pink cursed energy blazed like fire, and the aura that had become erratic during the battle steadied once more.

Dai Li chuckled, and the ground beneath his feet shattered instantly.

Red cursed energy erupted from his body. Several broken cursed tools scattered nearby dissolved into light at once, and new cursed tools began to appear beside him.

But this time, there was no overwhelming swarm.

There was only a single blade.

It was an exceedingly plain-looking blade.

It had no elaborate ornamentation, nor did a powerful glow of cursed energy surround it. At first glance, it didn't even look much different from an ordinary blade.

The only difference was the tuft of unusual, fur-like decoration hanging from the end of its hilt, soft yet carrying a strange sense of weight.

The dark gray blade reflected a cold sheen in the sunlight. It wasn't broad or thick, yet its sharpness provoked an instinctive sense of unease.

That sharpness didn't come from its appearance, but from something far stranger-as though this blade existed not to cut through flesh, but to touch something more fundamental.

"Soul Liberation Blade: Imaginary Form."

"With my previously inadequate cursed energy reserves, attempting an advanced imaginary Projection like this would have been impossible."

"But now, my total cursed energy is more than twice yours."

The Soul Liberation Blade Dai Li had created through imaginary Projection certainly couldn't compare to the original. He had never actually seen or analyzed the real Soul Liberation Blade; he had merely recreated an imagined version using its principles and a vast amount of cursed energy.

What is that? The curse contained in that weapon is extremely unusual. The Projection Cursed Technique I copied can't even begin to analyze it.

"This blade is inferior to the original. It can only convert part of an attack into a strike against the soul. I originally intended to use it to break through Rika's defenses, but I didn't expect you to call her back and have her transfer so much cursed energy to you."

"If possible, I'd rather take all of that blade's attacks myself. I don't understand soul strikes or anything like that, but I know that if Rika were hit by that blade, she'd suffer terribly."

Rika Orimoto manifested then, calling softly to Yuta Okkotsu.

"Yuta, Rika wants to help too. I can't let you fight alone."

"It's okay, Rika. I know Dai Li will hold back."

Yuta Okkotsu gently stroked Rika Orimoto's head, soothing her in a soft voice.

"Ah, what a pair of star-crossed lovers."

"But don't worry. I can't bring out this Soul Liberation Blade's power yet."

"This imaginary Soul Liberation Blade is something of a failure. I need to learn how to perceive souls before I can unleash the curse within it. Right now, it's just an extremely hard large blade."

Still, it's only unusable for now. Once this fight is over, I'll find a way to borrow an ability that lets me perceive other people's souls, and then I can use it.