Suddenly, they both seemed to sense something and looked deeper into the forest at the same time.
It was actually a cursed spirit!!?? But they had no time to concern themselves with why a cursed spirit had appeared here. Instead, both grew excited.
Found a way!
The same thought crossed both their minds.
Igarashi Amaha and Toji Fushiguro exchanged a glance from afar, each recognizing the other's intent. They smiled at each other, then shot toward the cursed spirit like two streaks of light.
"Aaaaah, roar, roar!!" The enormous cursed spirit noticed the humans charging at him too. With an excited roar, he reached out with two huge hands to grab them.
"Perfect timing. Let me borrow your arm!"
"Perfect timing. Let me borrow your flesh and blood!"
Watching the massive hand reach toward him, Igarashi Amaha shook his arms. Two streams of flame instantly took the shape of blades along his arms. He twisted, spinning rapidly, throwing up countless sparks as he spiraled up around the cursed spirit's arm like a flaming top, slicing as he went!
"With your only means of sight gone, how will you respond...?"
Beside him, Toji Fushiguro did much the same, his arm moving rapidly as he chopped the approaching arm into countless scraps of flesh!
"Aaaaah, aooooow!" The pain of having both arms shredded made the cursed spirit howl miserably.
"With your cursed energy perception disrupted, how will you defend against my attack...?"
Purple blood mist filled the air, obscuring their vision.
"Found you, monkey."
A glint flashed through Igarashi Amaha's eyes. The flames around him rapidly contracted and swelled, veins bulging on his forehead as he drove a punch toward the cursed spirit's body.
Piece Summons: "Meteor"!!
Squelch!!
The cursed spirit's bloated body was instantly punched through, revealing Toji Fushiguro behind him.
"I won."
Squelch!
Just as Igarashi Amaha's fist came within a few centimeters of Toji Fushiguro's face, his entire body suddenly froze, and all his flames instantly dissipated.
"Urgh... cough, cough, pfft..."
Frozen in place, Igarashi violently coughed up a mouthful of blood. He stared in disbelief at the Inverted Spear piercing his heart, then looked at the Chain of a Thousand Miles in Toji Fushiguro's hand. Understanding dawned on him, and he smiled, baring bloodstained teeth.
"I see. So that's how it was."
The Chain of a Thousand Miles in Toji Fushiguro's hand had climbed along the cursed spirit's body, reaching his opposite side-the side where Igarashi Amaha stood. The instant he punched through the cursed spirit's body, the Chain of a Thousand Miles moved as well, bringing the Inverted Spear into the cursed spirit's body alongside Igarashi Amaha. Under cover of the interference from the cursed energy the cursed spirit emitted, it successfully pierced his heart. (There is a concept drawing by the author in the comments.)
Watching Igarashi Amaha show no fear even in the face of death, Toji Fushiguro picked his ear and said, "You really are a pain, brat."
"What a shame. I forgot you still had the Chain of a Thousand Miles. Having your heart pierced really feels awful." As he spoke, Igarashi Amaha even flicked the blood-dripping Inverted Spear embedded in his chest.
Toji Fushiguro looked up at the Chain of a Thousand Miles, which extended several hundred meters, and said, "If this cursed spirit hadn't helped hide the Chain of a Thousand Miles, I might've been the one who died."
"No point talking about that now. A loss is a loss," Igarashi Amaha said frankly. Then he took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, offered Toji Fushiguro one, and began smoking his own.
"Why so stingy? You're going to die anyway. Couldn't you give me the whole pack?" Toji Fushiguro said, accepting the cigarette.
Igarashi Amaha exhaled a cloud of white smoke in enjoyment and said lightly, "I'm not in the habit of going without cigarettes in my pocket. Besides, who told you I was going to die?"
Clatter!!
Toji Fushiguro's pupils abruptly contracted. The Chain of a Thousand Miles whipped through the air as he rapidly retreated.
Squelch!
Feeling the Inverted Spear suddenly being pulled from his chest, Igarashi Amaha knitted his brows tightly. He looked at Toji Fushiguro and cursed through bared teeth, "Can't you fucking pull it out a little more gently? That hurts like hell."
With that, Igarashi Amayo held one hand before his chest in a strange gesture. With the bloodstained cigarette clenched between his lips, he softly uttered a few words.
Piece Summons: "Sacrificing the Rook to Save the King"!!
Boom!!
The next second, an ancient aura spread from within Igarashi Amaha, stirring up a cloud of dust. The bloody hole in his chest began healing rapidly.
In under five seconds, every wound on his body vanished. Even the dust in his hair dissipated along with them. Before such a recovery speed, even Reverse Cursed Technique was merely a faint glow.
If not for the large bloodstains still on his clothes, probably no one would have known that just seconds earlier, he had been at death's door.
Staring at the fully restored Igarashi Amaha, Toji Fushiguro muttered in disbelief, "What the hell..."
With his injuries healed, Igarashi Amaha briefly stretched his limbs, then plopped down on a nearby tree root with his cigarette in his mouth. Seeing Toji Fushiguro's strange expression, he curled his lip and said, "What? You get to bring a pile of special grade cursed tools, but I can't wear resurrection armor? Relax, relax. You might run into something like this again someday."
"Once is enough for this kind of bullshit. I don't want to run into it a second time." Toji Fushiguro also plopped down on a nearby tree root.
"Heh, who knows?"
The two who had just been fighting to the death now sat together and chatted.
After their fierce battle, Toji Fushiguro: minor injuries; Igarashi Amaha: one damaged piece of clothing; unknown Grade 1 cursed spirit: reduced to scraps.
"That... resurrection armor of yours. How did you do it?" Toji Fushiguro asked curiously.
At the question, Igarashi Amaha visibly froze for a moment, but then suddenly laughed. "You really want to know?"
"Yes." Toji Fushiguro nodded without hesitation.
"Then bring your ear over here. I'll tell you in secret."
Toji Fushiguro was a little puzzled. There were clearly only the two of them here, so why did they need to whisper? Still, puzzled or not, curiosity drove him to lean his ear closer.
Amused, Igarashi Amaha leaned toward Toji Fushiguro's ear and whispered, "Are you a fucking idiot? You don't seriously think I'd tell you about my own ability, do you? Did you get beaten stupid? Hahahahaha."
"You're sick." Toji Fushiguro shoved the laughing Igarashi Amaha away, then looked up at the moon overhead. Rising, he walked off into the distance and waved. "I'm off. I've still got a damn kid waiting for me to feed him at home. Let's play again next time we get the chance."
"Yeah, we'll get the chance," Igarashi Amaha said, waving back.
The two said goodbye like friends.
Come to think of it, Toji Fushiguro still didn't know the other man's name...
As for the resurrection ability...