Battle Between Brothers · Part Two

Seeing this, Tan Man knew what he would face next, even without any further explanation from Naobito Zenin.

After a day of rest, he was at least in slightly better shape than when he had faced Naobito Zenin that night.

"Begin."

With those casual words, Naobito Zenin announced the start of the fight.

Naoya accelerated instantly, enhancing his speed with the same Projection Sorcery as Naobito Zenin.

Tan Man reacted quickly as well, immediately using Eight Hot Hells: Reviving Hell to summon two Corpses to defend him.

This fight with Naoya was completely different from his test against Naobito Zenin that night. His opponent was no stationary target and would not give him the chance to finish chanting and leisurely unleash his Cursed Technique.

Without the boost from a complete chant, however, the number he could summon naturally dropped drastically.

But Naoya showed no surprise at the Corpses' appearance. With an effortless burst of speed, he went straight around their defenses.

At the same time, Naoya could not resist mocking Tan Man. "Small fry, small fry! A pathetic Cursed Technique like that won't work on me!"

Tan Man's pupils contracted slightly at the sight.

In the blink of an eye, Naoya was already behind Tan Man, ready to strike with his palm and immobilize him with Projection Sorcery, when he heard Tan Man chant under his breath.

"Eight Hot Hells: Black Rope."

Trails of black flame appeared around Tan Man, encircling him.

The moment Naoya heard "Black Rope," he swiftly withdrew his hand and moved out of the area covered by the black flames.

He also retreated, evading Black Rope's second eruption of spikes.

Seeing Tan Man unleash a second move with an entirely different effect, the spectators all looked surprised.

Ogi watched Tan Man's Cursed Technique with his arms folded across his chest, his expression thoughtful.

Naoya's performance did not surprise him. After all, he possessed the same Cursed Technique as Ogi's older brother and had received the best training the Zenin Clan could offer. A performance like this was only to be expected.

The only thing that caught him somewhat off guard was how perfectly Naoya adapted on his first encounter with Tan Man's Cursed Technique.

"Summoning and controlling flames? They don't look like extensions of a single effect. Or are flames the foundation of his Cursed Technique, with summoning as one extension and control as another?"

Beside him, Jinichi said nothing, but he was also considering Ogi's hypothesis.

Naoya bounced lightly on his feet, continuing to taunt Tan Man.

"Well, you little stray? Bring out whatever other Cursed Techniques you've got. Or do you not even have enough cursed energy left to use them a few more times?"

The truth was exactly as Naoya said. Although Tan Man had recovered his cursed energy after a day of rest, that did not mean his control over his Cursed Technique had improved significantly.

Apart from Equal Lives, which he had used more often, Black Rope and Sanghata Hell were still difficult for Tan Man to use and consumed considerable energy.

Tan Man was no fool. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at Naobito Zenin among the onlookers.

At present, the only person who could know about his Cursed Technique was Naobito Zenin, his father, who had fought him before.

So this is your choice?

You told Naoya everything about me. In the end, you couldn't bear to let the son you care about more embarrass himself in front of everyone?

I know. Even when they're all your children, there are still favorites.

Tan Man understood better than anyone that even among children born to the same parents, there would always be one who was loved the least.

He happened to have been that least-loved child in his family in his previous life. He was all too familiar with this situation.

This was Naobito Zenin's plan: let Tan Man demonstrate the value of his Cursed Technique while allowing Naoya to defeat him and quickly suppress the scandal before it had a chance to spread.

Although Naobito Zenin was not the sort to readily show his fatherly love for Naoya, he still instinctively took Naoya's interests into account.

Nor did Naobito Zenin see anything wrong with this arrangement for Tan Man. He felt no guilt toward him whatsoever. Many things simply were not fair.

Naoya easily dodged the attacks of the two Corpses, patiently waiting for Tan Man's Black Rope to end while remaining alert for the Cursed Technique called Sanghata Hell that Naobito Zenin had told him about.

With his back to Naobito Zenin and the other senior members of the Zenin Clan, Tan Man suddenly shook his head slightly, a bitter smile filled with conflicting emotions appearing on his lips.

At that moment, however, Naoya did not understand what that smile meant. He cared only that the ring of black flames protecting Tan Man had gone out.

Naoya accelerated immediately, breaking through the two Corpses' blockade in an instant and reaching Tan Man.

His palm was about to touch Tan Man's body. As soon as he made contact, Projection Sorcery would take effect, trapping the defenseless Tan Man inside a flat frame.

After that, Naoya was confident that a single full-force blow powered by cursed energy would leave the scrawny Tan Man unable to fight, avenging his earlier humiliation.

But when Naoya's palm touched Tan Man, Projection Sorcery failed to activate as it should.

"Huh?"

What puzzled Naoya was not just Projection Sorcery's failure to activate, but also the strange sensation of striking Tan Man's body.

He had clearly struck his body, yet the contact felt strangely insubstantial. To put it more plainly, it felt as though he had struck empty air.

In fact, if Naobito Zenin had not arranged things this way, Tan Man's original plan had not been to make Naoya lose too badly.

He had only wanted to make them appear more or less evenly matched, with Naoya defeating him by a narrow margin.

That way, he could draw enough attention without stealing the spotlight or immediately threatening Naoya's position and making himself a target too soon. He would be able to secure sufficient resources, along with time to train and grow stronger.

But the moment he realized Naobito Zenin's attitude, Tan Man, now possessing power, found it truly difficult to restrain himself from fighting back.

In Naoya's eyes, Tan Man's figure grew strange once more, and that pair of Demon Horns sprouted again.

Once again, they stirred Naoya's memories of hell.

This was unmistakably the sign that Tan Man had activated Evil Eye.

Unlike Naoya, Tan Man merely rested his hand lightly against Naoya's chest and chanted with the cold indifference of someone announcing his death.

"Eight Hot Hells: Sanghata Hell."