Thunder Beast • Modified

After seeing Lu Yun's Elementalization, Yuki Tsukumo finally began to understand why Yuta Okkotsu believed he could stand alongside Satoru Gojo.

With an absurdly overpowered ability comparable to Limitless, even other Special Grade Sorcerers probably couldn't do anything to Lu Yun without some special means.

But Yuki Tsukumo was a genuine Special Grade Sorcerer herself. How could she admit defeat without even laying a finger on him?

Her leather boot stomped down, shattering the ground into a web of cracks. Yuki Tsukumo shot forward and reached Lu Yun in the blink of an eye.

Even if she couldn't use her cursed technique, she would make Lu Yun experience what a true Special Grade was.

Her fist, coated in Domain Amplification, rose and slammed into Lu Yun's chest like a heavy hammer. A dull thud rang out.

Did I hit him?

This time, there was unmistakable feedback from the impact. Tsukumo's expression shifted slightly, but she realized her fist couldn't advance another inch.

A pair of large hands like iron clamps had slipped precisely between her fist and his chest, locking Yuki Tsukumo's fist firmly in place.

"Oh? You deactivated your technique yourself?"

Rather than alarmed, Yuki Tsukumo was delighted. If Lu Yun could touch her, it meant his Elementalization was no longer active, and she could use her cursed technique too.

"I can't just keep defending if I want to make you suffer."

Lu Yun grinned viciously. Elementalization wouldn't let him bloody his fists.

As it happened, he still had one ability he hadn't tried, and this was the perfect opportunity.

"If you can do it, go ahead and try."

With her right fist caught in Lu Yun's grip, Yuki Tsukumo activated her cursed technique without hesitation. An unimaginable amount of mass was added to her body as she raised her right leg and kicked straight out.

"Gah!!"

His hands dropped, and the right leg carrying that immense mass slammed into his lower abdomen. Lu Yun flew backward, his body abruptly folding into a U.

Whoosh! A piercing rush of air rang out. Before the spectators could process what had happened, a figure slammed deep into the wall below them, sending tremors through the stands.

Swaying unsteadily, Itadori hurriedly grabbed the railing.

"Huh? What happened? Was that an earthquake?"

"No, it was Mr. Lu Yun..."

Before Okkotsu could finish, a dust-covered Lu Yun pulled himself out of the wall.

"Cough, cough... bleurgh!"

Lu Yun wiped the lingering stomach acid from the corner of his mouth with his thumb. It took him a good while to recover.

"I really almost died that time... uh, no more showing off for me."

His stomach churned violently. The breakfast he had eaten not long ago had all come back up along the way.

Luckily, he had Itadori's enhanced physique and Reverse Cursed Technique. Otherwise, taking that blow head-on would have been genuinely dangerous.

In the distance, Yuki Tsukumo crooked a finger at Lu Yun.

"What, is this all a fighter who rivals Satoru Gojo can do? Still not going to attack?"

That was more than he could stomach. At the sight of her arrogance, fire flared in Lu Yun's eyes.

Even without Elementalization, he was going to beat Yuki Tsukumo into the ground!

Frenzied lightning surged around him as he raised the conversion ratio of cursed energy to electricity to ninety-nine percent. Without fully transforming into an element, he used lightning to modify his body to the greatest possible extent while retaining his physical properties.

A qilin-like cloak of lightning enveloped Lu Yun's body. The raging thunderbolts made even the spectators behind him feel the scorching air. The beast's feet sank deep into the ground. This terrifying form was no longer just for show.

Thunder Beast form, activate!!

"That form... Lu Yun, you look so cool!!"

Stars sparkled in the eyes of his little fanboy, Itadori.

Lu Yun flashed a grin. With Itadori saying that, he certainly couldn't disappoint him.

Lightning flashed, and the Thunder Beast, over two meters tall, vanished from everyone's sight in an instant.

Violent flashes of electricity flickered through the Training Ground. He moved so fast that a long blue streak swept across the field. No one could clearly make out the figure within it; all their eyes caught were the trails Lu Yun left behind.

Seeing that terrifying display, Yuki Tsukumo knew trouble was coming. She picked up the long whip formed by her shikigami, Garuda, again and surrounded herself with its whistling lashes.

"You don't think something like that can defend against my attacks, do you?"

Lu Yun's figure appeared for an instant. The whip lashed out, and his silhouette immediately dispersed like smoke.

Elementalization?

No, it was only an afterimage created by Lu Yun's tremendous speed.

The blue figure kept circling her. Yuki Tsukumo focused intently, not daring to let her guard slip in the slightest.

Where was he?

She opened her cursed energy perception fully. The blue figure moving at high speed gave Tsukumo the unsettling illusion that countless Lu Yuns had surrounded her.

"You can't keep up that speed forever, can you?"

Yuki Tsukumo spoke.

Even as she spoke, she strained to catch the fleeting pause that Lu Yun might make.

"Who are you looking down on? I could run all day."

Lu Yun's voice came from every direction, without the slightest hint of fatigue.

"Hmph."

Yuki Tsukumo chuckled. The instant Lu Yun spoke, she caught a fleeting fluctuation of cursed energy.

"You're right there, aren't you?!"

She swung her arm, and the shikigami whip lashed fiercely at that spot. Lu Yun's figure appeared, his face filled with shock.

Crack! Still wearing that shocked expression, Lu Yun crumbled upon contact, like a phantom made of lightning.

"Got you."

A low voice sounded behind Yuki Tsukumo. The moment she chose to attack was also the moment her defenses were weakest.

A Thunder Claw brimming with destructive power suddenly swiped at Tsukumo's back. She twisted sharply, but the beast's pointed claws of lightning still tore into her back.

Formed from both lightning and cursed energy, the beast's claws possessed physical properties even without Elementalization. Their sharp nails easily sliced through the clothing on Tsukumo's back, leaving three distinct claw marks across skin reinforced by her Special Grade cursed energy. Beads of blood scattered.

Unfortunately for him, Yuki Tsukumo was no pushover. As an experienced Special Grade fighter, she reacted the instant she heard Lu Yun's voice and successfully put distance between them, avoiding more serious injuries.

She lashed her whip to drive back Lu Yun as he tried to press his advantage, then activated Reverse Cursed Technique. The wounds on her back healed in moments.

Although her wounds healed easily, Yuki Tsukumo was nowhere near as relaxed as might have been expected. Instead, she looked at Lu Yun with a grave expression.

Elementalization, Thunderclap Speed, and that strange clone just now-the man before her seemed to have an endless supply of abilities, and none of them could be underestimated.

And this monstrous form actually had enough destructive power to injure her with ease. Just who was this guy named Lu Yun?

"What, is this all a so-called Special Grade Sorcerer can do? Still not going to attack?"

Watching Yuki Tsukumo stand there as though lost in thought, Lu Yun raised his eyebrows provocatively.