Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture. September 4, three in the afternoon.
The Sendai Colony had progressed at an astonishing pace, far outstripping Tokyo. The situation was also far more brutal.
Four powers held one another in check here, like four blades pressed against one another's throats. No one dared move first, and no one dared let go.
Dhruv Lakdawalla, 91 points. A veteran incarnated for the second time, he had once single-handedly subjugated the islands during the great upheaval in Wa. He possessed two independent shikigami and could turn the paths they traced into his domain.
Ryu Ishigori, 77 points. A cannon who took pride in having the highest cursed energy output of all the players.
Takako Uro, 70 points. Former captain of the Sun, Moon, and Stars Squad, an assassination unit directly subordinate to the Fuji. Her cursed technique allowed her to manipulate the sky.
Kurourushi, 45 points. A cockroach cursed spirit beyond the control of Kenjaku's Cursed Spirit Manipulation, registered as Special Grade. It remained dormant until the conditions for its emergence were met.
The four powers had formed no alliances. Strength, compatibility, counters-every factor was tangled together.
And yet...
Two corners of that balance had fallen.
Inside the stadium, a sword wound stretched across Dhruv's body, spurting blood. Deep enough to expose bone, it ran diagonally from his shoulder to his waist.
Yuta Okkotsu, 35 points. Just three months after the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, he had regained his Special Grade rank. Following Satoru Gojo, another modern-day...
Prodigy.
By the lake, Kurourushi's severed head lay exposed to the afternoon sunlight. Black filth kept gushing from the stump, trickling through cracks in the stones and into the lake.
Tokugawa Fenghua, 155 points. She had fought her way here from the Sakurajima Colony...
The strongest female sorcerer