I'm Full

Red and blue cursed energy erupted from Long Xi's palm at the same time.

The power of flames and rain overlapped along the same trajectory, becoming a blinding beam of light.

"Thank you... Long Xi..."

Immense, powerful cursed energy gathered at their fingertips, compressing, collapsing, then taking solid form once more!

Neither knew how long they had waited, but the instant their eyes met again!!

Ryu Ishigori's Cursed Energy Cannon and Long Xi's two-colored cursed energy slammed toward each other, both men prepared to die!

The two forces collided in midair.

An explosion! A deadlock! It all happened at once!

The entire building seemed to be torn apart by two giant hands pulling from either side. Reinforcing bars snapped inside the walls, and the glass shards were pulverized by cursed energy before they could hit the ground!

Even the streets dozens of meters away could see that intertwining red-and-blue pillar of light! Yuta Okkotsu shielded the unconscious Takako Uro and retreated with her!

Rika stood in front of him, her massive arms holding back the flying rubble, but as they waited for the debris to stop coming!

Only the two men remained, their clashing cursed energy lighting up almost half the sky!

"Long Xi..."

Yuta Okkotsu couldn't understand. Even in their brief time together, he had seen how clever his junior was.

And how levelheaded. It wasn't as though Long Xi didn't know that staying with him would maximize their gains...

He had simply given it up...

Given up a victory that wouldn't have been fair...

Ryu Ishigori was so excited that he poured every ounce of strength into it!

"Sweet!"

"So sweet, Long Xi!"

Blood seeped between Long Xi's clenched teeth. Cursed energy tore open the skin on his arms, only for Reverse Cursed Technique to stitch it back together!

"You're not bad yourself!"

"Give it everything you've got!!! Ryu Ishigori!"

Ryu Ishigori's grin grew even wilder.

He gathered cursed energy again.

This time, there was more than one cannon muzzle.

The cursed energy orbs hovering at his sides lit up simultaneously like two miniature suns, and Long Xi raised his other hand as well.

An enormous Void formed in his palm.

He stopped using Flame Seed and abandoned his traps. He gave up on making another strange Binding Vow!

He simply hurled everything he had straight at his opponent, carrying his intense emotions and his desire to win!

"Void!!"

The impact erupted from below. The floor exploded instantly under the strike, and the powerful shockwave blasted Ryu Ishigori into the sky!

He smashed through the collapsing rubble and broke through the low-hanging clouds left after the rain, yet he no longer felt the slightest pain.

He merely gazed at the sky, satisfaction written across his face.

The clouds... when did they become so beautiful...?

Was I satisfied...?

The heavy storm clouds were torn apart.

Sunlight spilled through the opening and fell across the devastated battlefield.

Did I lose...?

Ryu Ishigori steadied himself high in the air, his hair completely loose and his clothes burned to tatters, but the tremendous impact continued carrying him upward!

His gaze turned downward!

Long Xi stood atop the broken building, blood streaming endlessly from his head, yet his eyes remained fixed on his opponent.

Those eyes were hungry, unsatisfied, still waiting.

...Was that all you had? Were you full already?

Almost instantly, he understood what the other man was thinking.

Ryu Ishigori's signature grin spread across his face again!

And the instant that grin appeared, Long Xi formed his fingers into a gun again!

Like hell I was!!!!

Ryu Ishigori summoned the last of his strength. Veins bulged all over his body as he spread his hands!

Cursed energy gathered from above!!!

"Let's settle this!!!"

The light at Long Xi's fingertips flared!!

"Slush Shockwave!!!"

He shouted the name of his opponent's move.

It wasn't mockery. It was an answer.

Ryu Ishigori understood and decided to answer with the greatest output he could muster!!!

To answer the trust his opponent had placed in him!!

"I'm still hungry!!!"

The two blasts of cursed energy collided again.

Above was the ultimate output Ryu Ishigori had honed over four hundred years!!

Below was Long Xi's insane strike, built from his life, his cursed technique, his emotions, and the recovery supplied by his livestream!!

Ryu Ishigori finally sensed something.

It wasn't a cursed technique or a Binding Vow. Was it emotion...?

His emotions could drive his power higher...

Anger, excitement, pain, desire...

The more intense his emotions, the more violent his cursed energy...

What a terrifying ability. I probably wouldn't forget you for the rest of my life, Long Xi...

Ryu Ishigori was the first person to truly touch the core of Long Xi's ability.

But realizing it now was too late.

The storm clouds overhead had been blasted apart! The rain, however, hadn't disappeared!

The raindrops Long Xi had prepared in advance shot at Ryu Ishigori like bullets from every direction!

One drop, two drops, a hundred, a thousand!

Every drop carried cursed energy!

They passed through the sunlight, falling back from the edges of the torn clouds and striking Ryu Ishigori!

They gouged holes in his skin, and blood seeped out!

Ryu Ishigori ignored them, laughing wildly as he continued increasing his output!

But the force propelling him upward had vanished, and his body had already begun to fall!

His cursed energy was being depleted...

His body was being steadily weakened by the rain...

In other words-

Long Xi had won.

Ryu Ishigori's hair had come completely undone. Both men's eyes had begun rolling back uncontrollably, and blood poured from their bodies as though it cost nothing.

Yet he still refused to give up.

"Like hell it ends here!!"

Another Binding Vow appeared.

In exchange for being unable to use his cursed technique a day later, he gained one final replenishment of cursed energy right now!

He reinforced his body with cursed energy!

"Like hell I'm going down like this?!!!"

Ryu Ishigori plunged from the sky like a star that had burned itself out yet still refused to die!

Long Xi's cursed energy was almost exhausted too. Neither of them could muster another massive blast to clash with the other.

Then there was no need for more words...

"Let's see who stays standing till the end, Long Xi!!"

"I'll knock you flat!!!"

Ryu Ishigori landed and drove his fist toward Long Xi's face.

Long Xi had no intention of dodging. Instead, he raised his fist and struck back.

Bang!

Both took a blow to the face and staggered half a step backward.

Another pair of punches landed at the same time, and again they both stepped back.

There were no fancy techniques, no other thoughts. Only one idea remained: knock the other man down!

Like two beasts on the verge of being beaten to pieces, they poured every scrap of life they had left into their fists!

At that moment, neither could be stopped by anyone else...

Ryu Ishigori punched Long Xi in the abdomen.

Long Xi's stomach churned, and blood sprayed from his mouth, but he caught Ryu Ishigori's shoulder and drove his knee back into him.

Ryu Ishigori slammed his forehead into the bridge of Long Xi's nose.

Long Xi's vision went black. His nasal bone broke, and Reverse Cursed Technique could no longer keep up.

It hurt.

It really hurt.

Every punch hurt enough to make them want to curse!

Yet the pain came with an even greater rush of pleasure, making them savor the moment all the more!

And... strike back even harder!!

Bang!

Forcing himself to rally, one of them drove a vicious kick into the other's crotch. The pain was unmistakable, his eyes practically bulging out.

Yet he forcibly endured that unbearable agony!!!

Ryu Ishigori simply swung an even fiercer punch!

An answer after the main course...?

Ryu Ishigori's consciousness had begun to blur.

But he was still smiling.

So this was dessert...

The two grew faster and faster, their blows heavier and heavier.

When their cursed-energy-reinforced bodies struck the ground, they could leave craters half a meter across.

The building couldn't withstand their impacts, and its walls collapsed one after another.

Long Xi drove his fist beneath Ryu Ishigori's ribs!

Ryu Ishigori swung an elbow back into his shoulder!

Bones broke, flames erupted, and rain fell!

Dessert had been eaten bite by bite, and the final moment had arrived, even if both still wanted to keep going...

Water appeared again, but it was no longer a gentle, nourishing rain.

What appeared before everyone's eyes was an attack compressed to its utmost limit, carrying the last of Long Xi's cursed energy!!!

Ryu Ishigori likewise compressed his remaining cursed energy into his fist!

The two charged at each other simultaneously!!!

Long Xi had completely abandoned defense. All he wanted now was to win!

He only wanted to defeat his opponent head-on!!!

Boom!

The impact of their clash brought the entire building down!!

Yuta Okkotsu had already darted elsewhere. He had sensed the rain above his head...

The cursed energy within it had been compressed to its absolute limit!

Storm clouds gathered again, and the thunder rumbling within them was further proof of the tremendous power of Long Xi's final attack!

In the end, Long Xi had abandoned reinforcing himself with cursed energy!

He chose to pour all his cursed energy into this final attack, relying on his superhuman physique to take the blow head-on!

The rain fell almost instantly!

It was heavier than any rain Yuta Okkotsu had experienced in his life. The water punched through houses and smashed cars apart.

And it also punched through the two men amid the ruins!

Yuta Okkotsu could no longer see whether they were still fighting at the end...

But if he thought either of them was looking for somewhere to shelter from the rain now, that was absolutely impossible!

Then there was only one answer!

When the dust cleared, the two stood in the center of the ruins.

Not a single patch of Long Xi's skin was intact.

His eyes were closed, and bloody tears slid from their corners, quickly evaporating in the heat of his face.

Ryu Ishigori's head tilted upward, his eyes rolled back and his body rigid.

Neither had any fight left in him.

Compared with Ryu Ishigori, Long Xi was in even worse condition. When that rain fell, both had still chosen to fight!

And with all his cursed energy gone, he fought him using nothing but his superhuman physical prowess!

He had waited until now...

Everything around them fell silent, save for the sound of loose stones tumbling.

Ryu Ishigori looked at Long Xi one last time.

He gave the most satisfied smile of his life.

"Thank you..."

"I'm full..."

The next moment, both men collapsed at the same time.