Dust churned for a long time, obscuring everyone's vision.
Everyone from Kyoto Jujutsu High let out a long breath of relief.
Noritoshi Kamo slowly relaxed his tense hand on the bowstring. Only then did he realize that his finger joints were trembling from repeatedly drawing the bow at high intensity.
An indescribable ache followed in his arms. Unable to use Reverse Cursed Technique, he could only shake them out, trying to ease their stiffness.
"Whew, it's finally over."
Mai Zenin blew on the still-steaming gun barrel and quietly leaned against a nearby tree trunk.
Kasumi Miwa held her sword, staring blankly at the churning dust, her thoughts unknown.
"I think we need to confirm the target's current condition," Mechamaru said.
"Do we really need to...?" Kasumi Miwa asked meekly. She thought it was a little cruel.
"Confirm it," Noritoshi Kamo said decisively.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past.
As the wind swept through, the churning dust thinned a little, and the figure curled up within it gradually became clearer to everyone.
Kasumi Miwa turned her head slightly away, seemingly unable to bear seeing Yuta Okkotsu's miserable state.
But just then, a startled cry suddenly came from the air:
"Wait, he's still moving! Something's wrong! Miwa, watch out-he's coming for you!!!" Hovering in midair, Momo Nishimiya was the first to notice something amiss and hurriedly called out to warn Kasumi Miwa, who stood nearby, completely unguarded.
"Huh?!!" Kasumi Miwa's mind hadn't caught up yet. She had no idea what was happening.
The figure curled up in the dust suddenly rose and burst out at a speed beyond reason. Gripping his tachi, he hurtled straight toward the completely unguarded Kasumi Miwa.
The distance between them shrank rapidly.
Thanks to Momo Nishimiya's timely warning, although Kasumi Miwa's mind still hadn't caught up, her body's muscle memory instinctively activated "New Shadow Style-Simple Domain."
As her cursed energy spread, a faintly glowing circle rapidly expanded beneath Kasumi Miwa's feet, eventually forming a cursed energy barrier with a radius of 2.21 meters.
"New Simple Domain" was a unique technique created by jujutsu sorcerers without domains to counterattack and preserve their lives when facing Domain Expansion. Although it could not create an enclosed barrier space like a true "Domain Expansion," it could neutralize Domain Expansion's sure-hit effect, allowing its user to survive within an enemy's domain.
Simple Domain itself had no damaging effects. Its purpose was merely to protect sorcerers without domains, but Kasumi Miwa's "New Shadow Style-Simple Domain" was different.
"New Shadow Style-Simple Domain" originated in the Heian era. Unlike a normal Simple Domain, it used a binding vow to create an automatic counterattack mechanism within the domain.
Whenever an enemy or attack entered its range, the domain would automatically trigger Kasumi Miwa's sword-drawing slash to counterattack.
Kasumi Miwa had no Innate Cursed Technique, and "New Shadow Style-Simple Domain" was her only means of dealing damage.
As her Simple Domain unfolded, Kasumi Miwa lowered her body, pressed her hand to her sword hilt, and assumed a sword-drawing stance.
The instant Yuta Okkotsu rushed into the domain, New Shadow Style's counterattack mechanism triggered. Kasumi Miwa moved, her blade leaving its sheath and slashing fiercely at the approaching Yuta Okkotsu.
Clang-
With a crisp ring, Kasumi Miwa's slash collided violently with the blade in Yuta Okkotsu's hand.
Kasumi Miwa felt as though her slash had struck a rock-hard steel reinforcing bar. Not only had it done no damage whatsoever, but the impact had numbed the web of her hand.
"Ah-!"
Kasumi Miwa couldn't suppress a scream of pain, and her momentary loss of strength sent the tachi flying from her hand.
Reacting swiftly, Yuta Okkotsu reached out with his other hand and, catching Kasumi Miwa off guard, firmly grabbed the sword that had been knocked away.
He didn't take the opportunity to slash Kasumi Miwa with it. Instead, he followed through with his elbow and sent her flying.
Yuta Okkotsu stood there with a sword in each hand, successfully unlocking dual wielding.
After being elbowed away, Kasumi Miwa sat blankly on the ground, holding her remaining scabbard in both hands and staring at it dazedly as tears involuntarily spilled from her eyes.
"Boo-hoo... my sword's gone. Give me back my sword..."
Once Yuta Okkotsu stood still, everyone from Kyoto Jujutsu High could finally get another clear look at him.
Yuta Okkotsu was blackened from head to toe. Both his shirt and trousers were in tatters, letting air through everywhere. If he hadn't curled up in time to reduce the area exposed to their attacks, he might have ended up fighting naked.
But that was all.
Although his clothes were in tatters, beneath them, his entire body was completely unharmed, without a trace of blood or a single wound.
Oh, he couldn't quite be called completely unharmed.
Yuta Okkotsu had crouched down a little too hastily earlier and accidentally bitten his tongue. It had really hurt.
"Ptooey-" Yuta Okkotsu spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. His fighting spirit surged as he raised his head, his blazing eyes meeting the gazes of the Kyoto Jujutsu High group once more.
"You five are surrounded-by me!!!"
Everyone from Kyoto Jujutsu High was utterly dumbfounded.
At that moment, they all shared just one thought.
Seriously, dude, is this guy even human?
He had stood motionless, tanking damage for so long, getting bombarded by Light Cannon blasts and shot with so many arrows. Yet after all that commotion, he didn't have a single wound anywhere.
The thing was, even setting aside his lack of injuries, defending himself with that level of cursed energy output and fighting them for so long should have consumed quite a lot of cursed energy.
Noritoshi Kamo had originally planned to wait until his cursed energy ran out before taking him down in one fell swoop. After all, Yuta Okkotsu was alone, while there were five of them.
Yet this kid kept pouring out cursed energy as though it cost nothing. He was practically armored in it from his toes to the tips of his hair, and even now, his output showed no sign of weakening. His reserves seemed bottomless.
It was as though they were still in the steam age, carefully budgeting their little scraps of cursed energy to keep themselves going as long as possible.
Meanwhile, this kid had gone straight to nuclear-powered nanotechnology. How the hell were they supposed to fight that? They might as well hand it to him.
There was nothing they could do. He had cheats!!!
Mai Zenin gritted her teeth in anger.
That damned old bastard! Didn't he say this was just an ordinary person with cursed energy? You call this an ordinary person, you ***? If he's ordinary, what does that make me? A cavewoman?
Fuck your "ordinary person." Kill Yuta Okkotsu? If it's really that easy, why don't you do it yourself? Trying to make me your cannon fodder? I'll fucking kill-
She had practically cursed Gakuganji to hell and back in her mind, and she immediately began thinking of retreating.
Noritoshi Kamo stared fixedly at Yuta Okkotsu, who stood before him like a god of war, and slowly reached into his pocket, gripping an oddly shaped piccolo inside.
To ensure Yuta Okkotsu's execution went smoothly, the higher-ups had specifically arranged a safeguard.
They had released an additional, tamed Grade 1 Cursed Spirit into the grounds, firmly believing that this one Grade 1 Cursed Spirit could successfully kill Yuta Okkotsu (lol). The piccolo was the key tool for controlling it.
As the Kamo Clan's next head, Noritoshi Kamo, who enjoyed the deep trust of the higher-ups' feudal faction, had naturally become the one entrusted with wielding this safeguard.
After a moment's hesitation, he took out the piccolo and began playing it, intending to summon the cursed spirit to kill Yuta Okkotsu.
However, after he played for a long time, nothing stirred nearby. Aside from Yuta Okkotsu and his teammates all looking at him as though he were an idiot, there was no sign of the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
Damn it, what's going on? Noritoshi Kamo was frantic, yet there was nothing he could do.
As for where exactly the Grade 1 Cursed Spirit had gone...
On the other side of the competition grounds, Maki held an ugly cursed spirit tightly in her arms, forcibly restraining its movements.
"Hey, Akutagawa, hurry up! I can't hold it much longer."
The cursed spirit kept writhing, trying to break free of Maki's grip and head toward Noritoshi Kamo.
But Maki had a heavenly restriction. Although it wasn't yet complete, in terms of raw strength alone, she could still pin this cursed spirit down firmly. It couldn't break free at all.
"Coming, coming."
Akutagawa Shang extended his hand, and the white light of Reverse Cursed Technique began shining on his palm.
He pressed his palm, coated in Reverse Cursed Technique, onto the cursed spirit's head.
"Aaah-!"
The ugly cursed spirit let out what sounded like an agonized scream. Like paper meeting a blazing fire, it turned into a pile of ashes in moments.
"Whew... finally dealt with it. Why was this one so hard to handle, anyway? It felt stronger than all the others." Maki plopped down on the ground and let out a long breath before speaking to Akutagawa Shang.
"No idea. The rules said they wouldn't be above Grade 2, so it's probably an individual difference. Who cares, though? I can use Reverse Cursed Technique, so it's just a matter of saying 'excuse me' and getting past. Anyway, are you hurt? Need me to heal you?" Akutagawa Shang spread his hands and spoke casually, as though killing a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit had been nothing more than an insignificant little interlude in the competition.
"I accidentally twisted my back while holding that thing. It hurts like hell. Hurry up and heal me." Maki didn't act shy about it, plainly saying her back hurt as she grabbed Akutagawa Shang's hand and pressed it against her lower back.
"Sure. See if this feels any better." Akutagawa Shang activated Reverse Cursed Technique through the hand on Maki's lower back and began treating her injury.
"Hiss... whew... that feels good!!! Having Reverse Cursed Technique sure is convenient. Let's rest a little longer, then keep going." Feeling the treatment of Reverse Cursed Technique, Maki stretched comfortably.
"O-kay. There aren't many left anyway."
Back with Yuta Okkotsu, Noritoshi Kamo was growing frantic as the cursed spirit continued to remain nowhere in sight.
Everyone surrounded Yuta Okkotsu, but no one attacked. The two sides remained locked in a standoff, the atmosphere settling into an eerie stagnation.
Suddenly, a crisp clap rang out through the deathly still atmosphere, sending out an echo.
Clap-
Before you continue