Sakurada Niji's heart felt as though it would burst out of his chest. His chest heaved as he greedily gulped down oxygen.
The enormous gap in strength and his shattered fighting rhythm left him tense.
Just then, he suddenly heard a shout.
"Sakurada! Are you all right?!"
The person calling out was Yoshioka Ryozo. Worried about Sakurada Niji, he had stayed hidden nearby, keeping watch and preparing to call the police immediately if anything went wrong.
He hadn't expected to hear strange sounds of fighting. Rushing over, he saw Sakurada Niji getting up from the ground with blood covering his hands and feet. He quickly dialed the emergency number, then ran toward him, shouting, "I've already called the police! They'll be here any minute!"
Sakurada Niji glanced at Yoshioka Ryozo, then hurriedly turned his anxious gaze back to the monster. It merely tilted its head and gave him a strange look from a short distance away. For some reason, though, it didn't attack Yoshioka Ryozo.
He hurriedly pulled Yoshioka Ryozo behind him and kept his eyes on the monster as he shouted, "Run! There's an invisible monster! Tell the police exactly what happened!"
"Then... you... you have to hang in there, Sakurada! I'll go get the police right now!" Yoshioka Ryozo instinctively believed him. Perhaps seeing Sakurada Niji, who never normally got hurt, covered in blood had made him realize something was terribly wrong. He took off running.
To keep the monster from attacking Yoshioka Ryozo, Sakurada Niji had no choice but to steel himself and attack first.
Is this monster leaving Yoshioka alone because it thinks neither of us can escape? Does it want to toy with its prey... how vile...
This is our only chance, Yoshioka... let's see how far you can run before I die! No, no, no! Maybe I can hold out until the official personnel arrive...
Without thinking any further, Sakurada Niji made up his mind, gathered himself, and charged at the monster, launching another assault.
The monster stayed where it was and casually blocked his attacks with a few movements.
Am I already exhausted? Or has this monster been toying with its prey all along?
Sakurada Niji couldn't figure it out. All he knew was that the longer he held out, the better...
Suddenly, as though it had had enough fun, the monster landed a heavy punch on Sakurada Niji. Although he barely managed to block it, the blow still knocked him to the ground. Then he saw the monster stamp down at him. He scrambled out of the way and hurried to his feet, but before he could steady himself, the monster kicked him away. Unable to defend himself in time, he flew backward and only stopped when his body struck the wall behind him with a dull thud.
Amid the dust, Sakurada Niji's right arm hung limp. Bracing his left hand against a section of wall that hadn't collapsed, he barely managed to rise, doubled over. When he forced himself upright, he couldn't help coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.
Are my ribs broken? Or are my organs damaged? I've got no strength left... I feel a little sick... but it barely hurts... is that the adrenaline?
Sakurada Niji felt as though he was done for. His whole body had gone weak, and he couldn't muster any strength. His legs were as limp as cooked noodles, utterly unable to support him. Only his left hand braced against the wall kept him upright.
I hope Yoshioka gets help in time... if this weren't a monster like this... he's actually pretty smart... I really hope he lives a good life...
My parents will be heartbroken when they find out... and my classmates... they like me so much... what animal will I become in my next life?
"Ugh-vrrm-buru~baru!"
So noisy...
The monster's strange cry interrupted Sakurada Niji's recollections. He forced his head up and calmly looked at the monster before him.
The sharp teeth in its mouth shifted up and down. Its face bore strange patterns, and its two eyes sat far apart. Though the eyes looked comical on their own, the whole face was inexplicably horrifying.
The monster slowly walked up to Sakurada Niji, seized his throat with one hand, and lifted him up. It tilted its head to inspect the food in its grasp, then opened its mouth wide and bit toward his head. Just before its teeth touched him, however, it suddenly stopped.
It seemed to sense that the food in its hand wasn't giving off the usual delicious flavor. Dissatisfied, it stopped eating and looked in the direction the other human had fled.
As though an idea had struck it, the monster suddenly lifted Sakurada Niji in front of its face and gave him a horrifying smile, trying to convey something to him.
Sakurada Niji watched the mocking expression on its face without expression, feeling its grip slowly loosen around his throat.
These disgusting monsters, in both appearance and thought, exist only to toy with humans, to devour them in the depths of absolute terror.
He recalled the strange smile the monster had just shown him and could no longer keep his heart calm.
This monster-it wants to drag Yoshioka back here and eat him in front of me! Then eat me while I'm overcome with grief and rage! Absurd! Disgusting! Utterly evil! Do these monsters exist for nothing but slaughtering humans?!
The negative emotions within Sakurada Niji became impossible to suppress, transforming into an endless stream of energy.
Something like this must be... driven out!
His emotions reached their peak, and energy surged ceaselessly through his body, even spilling outside it! Tangible energy roiled over his skin!
His disgust for the monster pushed to its limit, Sakurada Niji could no longer bear to wait silently for death.
As long as I can still move! I will never give in and wait to die!
With his uninjured left hand, he grabbed the monster's hand just as it was about to leave his throat.
The energy within Sakurada Niji suddenly began circulating on its own. An entirely new way of operating replaced his former crude use of it. He felt as though something inside him had been unlocked.
As the energy radiated outward, he opened his eyes wide and stared fixedly at the monster, spitting out two words.
"Don't! Move!"
The monster dropped its mocking expression and looked coldly at Sakurada Niji.
Then it looked at the hand that no longer obeyed its will and swung its other hand viciously at Sakurada Niji's head.
Then it discovered that its other hand had also suddenly stopped in front of Sakurada Niji, slipping out of its control.
Then came its legs, its head, its skin, its muscles...
With its entire body under control, the monster couldn't move. It could only watch as it lost command of its body, slowly eroded by something until its whole body was locked in place.
Sakurada Niji pried the monster's hand off his throat with his left hand, landed on the ground with a stumble, then slowly steadied himself.
Now, inexplicably, he felt that his body had become whole, as though it had always been incomplete before.
Touching the monster's rough skin and feeling the energy flow through his body in this new way, he gradually came to understand this power.
The power to fix things in place, anchoring anything his energy touched so that it could no longer move through space.
These twisted monsters, and this power born from negative emotions... cursed energy?
Cursed energy was electricity, while cursed techniques were different electrical appliances. The gap between someone with a cursed technique and someone without one was as vast as heaven and earth.
Heavenly Restriction was merely a rare exception.
Had I never activated my cursed technique before because my emotions were too stable? Or had I simply never been in a real fight?
Sakurada Niji removed his left hand from the monster and noticed its eyes begin to move slightly. He placed his hand back on it to maintain his cursed technique, and the monster became utterly unresponsive again.
Looking at the motionless monster before him, Sakurada Niji took the Utility Knife from his pocket, raised his hand, and drove it swiftly and forcefully into the monster's eye. The monster still didn't move.
How long will the cursed technique last without continuous contact? There's no time to experiment now. I'll finish it off first!
With a wet squelch, the Utility Knife plunged into the monster's brain along with Sakurada Niji's fingers. He twisted the knife hard, only stopping when he saw the cursed spirit's body begin to dissipate.
Letting out a relieved breath, Sakurada Niji dropped onto his backside. His body had long since reached its limit; only cursed energy and sheer determination had kept him going.
He was mentally exhausted, and as the effects of the adrenaline gradually faded, pain began to spread through his body as well.
Lying on the ground, Sakurada Niji finally let out a relieved breath when he heard faint voices nearby, then lost consciousness without worry.
Not long after Sakurada Niji passed out, a uniformed man arrived ahead of the police. Looking at the signs of battle all around him, he couldn't help glancing at Sakurada Niji lying on the ground.
"Cursed residue from cursed energy... judging by its concentration, it should have been a Grade 2 Cursed Spirit. Did this kid exorcise it all by himself?!"