Tailed Beast Bomb?

"Oh no, my King’s Power!"

Despite his pained expression, Lu Yun surprisingly felt little pain, perhaps because of Elementalization.

Lightning surged, and a right arm made entirely of electricity grew from his empty shoulder.

"Huh?"

Lu Yun flexed his brand-new right hand. It felt no different from the original, leaving him momentarily stunned.

He had barely let out a couple of wails, and his King’s Power was already back?

Knowing that Reverse Cursed Technique existed in the world of jujutsu, Lu Yun had not really worried about losing his arm. He had simply found the feeling of being one-armed rather novel. He had even wanted to take the opportunity to cosplay Yang Guo, the Condor Hero, and defeat masters across the world with a single arm. Instead, before he could get much of a taste of it, his arm had recovered.

Reverse Cursed Technique? No, that wasn't it. It was more like an effect of the cursed technique itself.

As Lu Yun's arm recovered, Okkotsu sensed no positive energy opposite in nature to cursed energy being generated, only ordinary fluctuations of cursed energy.

It seemed that only a fatal wound could defeat Lu Yun for good.

Yuta Okkotsu was slightly surprised, but he did not dwell on it. Instead, he looked as though victory was already in his grasp.

"Oh? From that look on your face, you seem pretty sure you're going to beat me."

Okkotsu's expression of certain victory successfully caught Lu Yun's attention.

Did he have some other hidden trick?

Faced with Lu Yun's curiosity, Okkotsu made no attempt to hide it:

"Well, I just realized that I seem to be able to copy your cursed technique now, Mr. Lu Yun."

Okkotsu's [Copy] technique allowed him to use another sorcerer's innate cursed technique by having Rika eat part of that sorcerer's body.

When Lu Yun's arm recovered, Okkotsu had assumed that the severed arm Rika had swallowed had lost its value on a jujutsu level, and that his [Copy] technique should therefore have failed.

But that was not the case. He could faintly sense that he could still activate Lu Yun's cursed technique.

"It seems your arm hasn't actually recovered, Mr. Lu Yun."

Lu Yun shook his right arm, puzzled. Wasn't his hand perfectly fine?

With no intention of clearing up Lu Yun's confusion, Yuta Okkotsu activated his cursed technique:

"Cursed technique release, Lightning Release: Kir-huh? What's this? What the hell is Mythical Beast Amber??"

The moment Okkotsu spoke, Lu Yun's expression twisted. His cheeks twitched as he forced himself to hold it in, but the corners of his mouth still curled upward involuntarily.

Yuta Okkotsu did not possess [Cursed Energy-Electricity Conversion], so of course he could not undergo Elementalization like Lu Yun. That meant the only technique he could have copied was Hajime Kashimo's original technique, engraved into Lu Yun's body: [Mythical Beast Amber].

Once activated, [Mythical Beast Amber] could not be stopped. Unique electrical cursed energy poured out of Yuta Okkotsu and began remodeling his body. A storm of cursed energy enveloped him, the various phenomena produced by its transformations became reality, and his physical attributes rose dramatically. His flesh gradually transcended the bounds of humanity, but this was not remotely the result he wanted.

Wait, what about Elementalization?

He had chosen to copy Lu Yun's technique because he wanted to activate Elementalization and drain Lu Yun's cursed energy without taking damage. As long as he could turn this into a contest of total cursed energy reserves, Okkotsu was certain he could win without endangering Lu Yun's life. Their reserves were roughly equal, but Okkotsu still held a slight edge.

Yet the current situation was nothing like what Yuta Okkotsu had envisioned.

Even as he gained a superhuman physique, Yuta Okkotsu's body was breaking down uncontrollably. He could only do his best to use Reverse Cursed Technique to slow its collapse.

"Pfft, hahaha! You've really screwed yourself over this time, little bro Okkotsu!"

Lu Yun finally failed to hold it in and burst out laughing.

Seeing him revel in his misfortune, Okkotsu could hardly fail to realize that Lu Yun had tricked him. His expression darkened, and he raised his long sword and had Rika hurl him toward Lu Yun again.

There was no denying how powerful his body had become after activating Mythical Beast Amber. Before Lu Yun could even react, Yuta Okkotsu flew toward him at tremendous speed and sliced him in two.

Looking at his severed lower half, Lu Yun wore a devastated expression:

"You..."

The next instant, his detached lower body exploded into lightning that filled the sky.

"Just messing with you~"

Now that he knew Okkotsu could hurt him, how could Lu Yun possibly fail to prepare? His waist, where his cursed energy core lay, was his top priority. He kept it separate from the rest of his body at all times, making it impossible for anyone to damage his cursed energy core.

He could even choose not to reassemble his lower body, keeping that entire half in a state of lightning. With the weakness at his waist gone, and his cursed technique able to operate on its own once activated, even having his head cut off would not stop Lu Yun from using lightning formed from cursed energy to reassemble himself under the technique's effects.

In other words, as long as his cursed energy had not run out, Lu Yun was now invincible.

But Lu Yun's precautions were honestly redundant. With his cursed technique activated, Yuta Okkotsu could no longer use Domain Amplification.

Rika caught Yuta Okkotsu's falling body once again. Her powerful shikigami arms dissipated the impact of his fall, and like a martial arts master skilled with a long whip, she launched Okkotsu out once more.

Catch, redirect, release-the essence of the Ma family's martial arts. To deal with Lu Yun, Rika, a mere shikigami, had actually grasped this profound martial principle instinctively.

Yuta Okkotsu remained focused as he was hurled through the air over and over. Whenever he approached Lu Yun, he swung his blade with lightning speed, unleashing the legendary five-strike lightning saber technique the instant he drew close, as though he were dicing a mango.

Lu Yun did his utmost to dodge, but he still could not avoid having his body struck by such masterful swordsmanship.

These wounds, however, no longer spilled blood like the injuries Okkotsu had inflicted earlier with Domain Amplification coating his blade.

Lu Yun finally realized that the Domain Amplification on the blade had long since disappeared.

"Then what the hell am I scared of?"

His lightning-formed figure exploded apart. Lightning dancing across the sky forced Okkotsu's charging figure back, while a wisp of electricity leaped into the distant sky before gathering into Lu Yun's body again.

Far from Okkotsu, a ball of lightning gathered once more in the thunder beast's mouth. Lu Yun began charging again, destructive fluctuations rising as he forcibly compressed countless bolts of violent lightning into the energy projectile in its jaws. Under his continued compression, the blue-violet projectile grew ever blacker.

"I won't let you!"

Noticing Lu Yun's actions, Okkotsu quickly pursued him. Under the remodeling effects of his cursed energy, only his eyes remained of his original face. Beneath them, a round cannon muzzle resembling a Peashooter's had actually formed.

If he couldn't hurt him, he would simply annihilate him.

Cursed energy gathered in the Thunder Pea Cannon. Electromagnetic waves said to be capable of vaporizing everything blasted out before Lu Yun could fire his lightning projectile, striking his body in the blink of an eye.

Crack.

Lu Yun's figure shattered like glass, turning into transparent fragments that filled the sky before the lingering electromagnetic waves annihilated them completely.

Was it over?

Yuta Okkotsu was filled with hope. Unfortunately, the aura of destruction had not vanished. Instead, it reached its peak.

He whipped his head around, and Lu Yun's completely unharmed figure abruptly appeared in another direction.

No, that was impossible!!

Lu Yun should have been destroyed by that electromagnetic blast.

Could it be?

Looking carefully back at the spot the electromagnetic waves had struck, he realized that the transparent fragments filling the sky had clearly come from a shattered giant pane of glass!

That was right-Lu Yun had never been there. It had merely been an illusion he created by manipulating electric charges to attract glass.

Everything before this, including luring Okkotsu into the city center and exploding his body into lightning that filled the sky, had been nothing more than a smokescreen. From beginning to end, Lu Yun had only one goal: completing his ultimate lightning projectile.

The pitch-black lightning projectile had been compressed to its limit. Okkotsu knew he no longer had any chance of stopping it from erupting.

"I'll call this move Tailed Beast Bomb. No, [Thunder Beast Bomb] sounds better."