"Hollow Wicker Basket!"
Knocked back for the moment, Hajime Kashimo formed hand seals again, redeploying the Hollow Wicker Basket just as it was about to dissipate.
Takako Uro wasted no time mocking him:
"You really are pathetic, Kashimo."
Even now, he refused to expand his domain. Uro did not know whether to call him confident or conceited.
A blue Cursed Energy Cannon blast hurtled toward her. Unable to keep taunting him, Uro activated her cursed technique and counterattacked.
Ryu Ishigori was not about to let Uro get away with that. He opened his mouth and snapped:
"You don't know shit. This is just Kashimo's strategy. He wouldn't even take someone like you seriously."
Leaping out of the way of Uro's counterattack, Ryu Ishigori relentlessly unleashed more cannon fire.
Ishigori, you bastard. Looks like we really are best friends!
Hajime Kashimo could not help being moved by Ryu Ishigori's loyal defense of him.
Even he had not bothered to argue with Uro, yet Ishigori had been speaking up for him all along.
He could not disappoint this good friend from his own era again. Hajime Kashimo rallied and chased straight after Uro.
Anyone would grow irritated after being hounded over and over.
Takako Uro had finally had enough of the man who had been pestering her since the Culling Game began. Activating her cursed technique at full strength with both hands, she seized the planes of space on either side and forcefully brought them together around Ryu Ishigori.
"Get the hell away from me!"
The planes on either side surged like waves. Caught between them, Ryu Ishigori felt two immense forces bearing down on him, crushing his body without mercy.
"You dare hurt my friend? You're dead!"
A lightning-wreathed foot lashed out. Takako Uro had no time to defend herself before the arriving Hajime Kashimo sent her flying with a kick.
Without anyone controlling them, the rippling planes returned to normal. Ryu Ishigori caught his breath and gave Hajime Kashimo a thumbs-up:
"Nice one, Kashimo!"
"No big deal."
The corners of Hajime Kashimo's mouth lifted slightly.
After taking Kashimo's kick head-on, Uro tumbled several times before finally grabbing a plane of space to stop herself. Her face was livid:
"Have you no shame? Two grown men ganging up on one woman!"
"You're the one who interrupted our duel."
Ryu Ishigori saw nothing wrong with it. If anything, he thought Uro was the one at fault.
Takako Uro bitterly regretted her decision.
Why did I interfere with these two idiots? Couldn't I have waited until they'd beaten each other half to death, then finished them off?
Unfortunately, she had no power to turn back time. She could only silently swallow the bitter consequences of her own actions.
Rising expressionlessly, Uro slid her hands through the air.
It's come to this. I'll have to give it everything I've got.
Space rippled again. Uro pulled with all her strength, making the plane shake violently and using it to conceal herself.
Ryu Ishigori and Hajime Kashimo struggled to steady themselves. Since they could not find Uro for the moment, they resumed their own fight.
Ryu Ishigori struck first, driving a heavy punch straight at Hajime Kashimo.
Wrapped in cursed energy and bolstered by Ishigori's reinforcement, the fist carried tremendous force.
But Hajime Kashimo was no pushover either. Reacting swiftly, he raised his arm into the fist's path to block it.
The heavy punch slammed into him. Its immense force drew a grunt from Hajime Kashimo, but he still withstood the blow.
His cursed energy output fell short of Ryu Ishigori's, leaving him at a disadvantage if he kept taking attacks head-on. So Hajime Kashimo changed tactics.
Another punch came smashing toward him. This time, Kashimo did not brace against it. Instead, he raised his hand and deftly swept Ishigori's arm aside.
If I can't withstand it, why not just keep him from landing a hit?
Using his superior speed, Hajime Kashimo could strike the weak points in Ryu Ishigori's defenses first, forcing him to pull back and defend.
As their battle raged, Takako Uro revealed herself again and launched a sudden ambush on both men.
Knowing she was hiding nearby, how could Ryu Ishigori and Hajime Kashimo possibly have neglected to keep watch?
They were enjoying their fight, but they were also using it to lure Uro out.
Uro's skill at concealing her presence was too refined. Within a domain filled with cursed energy, they could not easily pinpoint her.
But the moment she appeared, the two prepared men could still detect the fluctuations in her cursed energy.
Now!
"Thin Ice Breaker!"
Uro pressed down with both hands, shattering space. Already prepared, the two men had leaped away the instant they sensed her presence.
Boom!
Space erupted with a deafening crash as countless streaks of blue light poured forth. Ryu Ishigori kept firing his Cursed Energy Cannon, until even his hairstyle overheated, turned red, and burst apart.
"Whoops, whoops. Overdid it."
Desperately dodging the incoming Cursed Energy Cannon blasts, Uro could hardly fail to realize that the two of them had set her up.
"Damn it!"
"Got you."
A devilish whisper sounded beside her ear. Uro immediately felt a large hand clamp around her neck.
Moving at blinding speed, Hajime Kashimo seized his chance. While she was dodging the attacks, he darted to her side and grabbed her, denying her any opportunity to hide again.
His lightning-like cursed energy surged, combining with the electrical charges he had previously driven into her body. Executioner's Lightning activated, and an explosion engulfed Uro's body in an instant.
Takako Uro had still intended to fight to the death, but she immediately lost consciousness. Her body charred black, she was casually tossed aside by Hajime Kashimo, her fate unknown.
"Now it's finally just the two of us,"
Seeing Hajime Kashimo dispatch Uro so easily, Ryu Ishigori pulled a comb from inside his clothes and fixed his hair as he said excitedly,
"Surely you'll expand your domain now."
Hajime Kashimo shook his head:
"There's no need. It's already over."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Ryu Ishigori was baffled. He was nowhere near being unable to fight, so how could it be over?
Hajime Kashimo offered no explanation. He simply proved his words through action.
He channeled his cursed energy and fired an electric shock. The dancing current needed no guidance whatsoever. No matter how Ryu Ishigori dodged, it headed straight toward him.
In the blink of an eye, it struck his body.
Right up until that unremarkable current hit him, he had not believed such a tiny bolt could do him any harm.
But the instant it made contact, Ryu Ishigori sensed something wrong inside his body.
The current coming toward him was only the fuse. The true killing blow had already been planted inside him.
During his exchanges with Hajime Kashimo, more than enough electrical charge had been driven into Ryu Ishigori's body. Kashimo had simply refrained from detonating it.
Now, the positive and negative charges met. His body was like a wooden barrel packed with gunpowder, exploding the instant it touched a spark.
Both men who had expanded their domains had sustained injuries that left them unable to maintain them. Cracks appeared across the black sphere forming the domains' boundary. Finally, with a bang, it shattered like a broken mirror.
Countless black fragments of the domains dissolved in the air, and Hajime Kashimo and the other two reappeared within the Sendai Colony.
As Ryu Ishigori collapsed helplessly after the explosion, Hajime Kashimo was the only one left standing unharmed.
In other words, Hajime Kashimo had won!
Before you continue