Chapter 65 (Patreon)

“Blah, blah, blah!”

Rika Orimoto had no intention of listening to Suguru Geto ramble any longer.

Her body shot forward.

Boom!

The ground cracked beneath her feet as she closed the distance in an instant.

Suguru Geto swung Playful Cloud, the three-section staff cutting through the air with brutal force.

Rika slipped inside its range.

The moment she found an opening, her cursed energy surged through her arm, and she slammed a sharp strike directly into his wrist.

“What?!”

Suguru Geto’s arm went numb.

Before he could regain control of Playful Cloud, Rika stepped in even deeper and drove her shoulder into his guard, forcing his stance open.

Then she swept his calf with a low kick.

Suguru Geto’s balance collapsed.

Rika followed immediately, driving an elbow into his jaw.

The impact snapped his head to the side.

She struck again with both fists, cursed energy bursting through his torso like a hammer blow.

Immediately after, another heavy strike crashed down toward Suguru Geto’s head.

“Pfft!”

Suguru Geto spat blood and barely raised Playful Cloud in time to block the next lethal hit.

Crack!

Even though he managed to deflect it, the force still smashed into his shoulder.

His left scapula was likely fractured.

Suguru Geto staggered back, his vision briefly blurring from the chain of blows. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and immediately made a decision.

He could not fight Rika Orimoto in close combat.

Not like this.

If his body had been even a little weaker, those few exchanges would have beaten him to death.

Suguru Geto clutched his left shoulder, his expression darkening.

“Where did you learn to fight like that?”

This was absurd.

A girl who looked so thin and fragile was moving with the instincts of someone trained to break bones and crush organs.

Every strike was meant to end the fight.

Ragnar Kagenou watched Rika, who had managed to force Suguru Geto back even though she had only learned a portion of his close-combat style.

“She’s only learned the basics. If she had mastered it completely, Geto would already be scattered across the floor.”

Terrifying.

At first, Ragnar had only intended to teach Rika basic self-defense and cursed-energy reinforcement.

But Rika had refused to stop there.

She wanted something more direct.

Something that could protect Yuta.

Something that could kill.

And once Rika Orimoto decided on something, changing her mind was almost impossible.

Suguru Geto quickly put distance between himself and Rika.

“It seems if I want to kill you, I’ll have to rely on a Special Grade Cursed Spirit.”

His eyes narrowed.

“Do you know? So far, only five people have ever been classified as Special Grade Sorcerers.”

A black mass of cursed energy twisted behind him.

“But among cursed spirits, there are sixteen Special Grades.”

He summoned a Special Grade Imaginary Vengeful Spirit—

Tamamo-no-Mae Incarnate.

“This is one of them.”

Suguru Geto smiled coldly.

“And on top of that, I’ll combine all 4,459 cursed spirits currently under my control to deal with you.”

His hands moved.

The cursed energy around him began to compress.

“Cursed Spirit Manipulation: Maximum…”

“Uzumaki.”

——————

At that moment, Shinjuku.

With thousands of cursed spirits spreading through the city, the sorcerers from Jujutsu High could no longer hold the line.

Several sorcerers stared at the swarm in front of them. Even knowing they were outmatched, they gripped their cursed tools and prepared to fight to the death.

Then someone tapped one of them on the shoulder.

Another sorcerer turned around and shouted in relief.

“Nanami-san?!”

Kento Nanami loosened his collar with a calm expression.

“I’ll handle this.”

He rushed forward, his blunt cursed tool in hand, and cut straight through the giant turtle-shaped cursed spirit in front of him.

The cursed spirit was split from head to tail and exorcised instantly.

Then more cursed spirits surged out from the street.

Nanami loosened his tie, wrapped it around his fist, and stepped forward.

Facing the incoming swarm, he struck.

Black Flash.

A distortion of space born when cursed energy impacts within one-millionth of a second of a physical hit.

As more cursed spirits poured into the street, Nanami continued fighting and unleashed four consecutive Black Flashes.

One after another, the cursed spirits were cut down and exorcised.

“Hm?”

After finishing off the last group, Nanami looked up at the sky.

A shadow was spreading above him.

It was as if something capable of erasing everything was about to descend.

——————

The flattened Daimonji Mountain.

Kasumi Miwa stared at her trembling hands.

“I… survived?”

Mai Zen’in let out a long breath and sat down on the ground.

Momo Nishimiya leaned against her back, looking like she had just barely escaped death again.

Aoi Todo swallowed hard.

Then, as if remembering something far more important, his expression changed.

“The cursed spirits are gone… I have to go see Takada-chan!”

Noritoshi Kamo stared at him in silence.

Then he looked up at the sky.

The dark clouds around them had been pushed far away, leaving a vast circular opening directly above Kyoto.

Yuta Okkotsu slowly stood up, still shocked by what he had witnessed.

Maki Zen’in opened her mouth.

“It’s a miracle we survived something like that.”

Yuta looked toward the ruined mountain.

“Ragnar-sensei… he’s on a level we can’t even reach.”

In downtown Kyoto, Utahime Iori looked toward the sky and muttered,

“That wasn’t sorcery anymore. That was closer to divine punishment. After this, do the higher-ups still have the courage to go after him?”

Yoshinobu Gakuganji straightened his back, his eyes burning.

“No one could survive a blow like that. He has already gone beyond the limits of the jujutsu world.”

His voice lowered.

“Perhaps only Master Tengen could stand against something like him.”

——————

Suguru Geto looked at Rika.

“Rika, I’m lucky I came to kill you before you could properly control the Queen of Curses.”

Rika glanced at him.

Behind her, the Queen of Curses let out a furious roar.

Suguru Geto grinned viciously.

“I’ll gratefully take that power for myself.”

“Rho Aias.”

Just as Suguru Geto launched his attack, seven radiant petals unfolded in front of Rika Orimoto.

Layer after layer, they formed a shield between her and the incoming destruction.

“This is…?”

Ragnar Kagenou walked in front of Rika.

“Well done, Rika.”

“Ragnar-nii, I can still—”

Before Rika could finish, Ragnar interrupted her.

“You’ve done enough. Leave the rest to me.”

Rika hesitated.

Then she slowly recalled the Queen of Curses and stepped back behind him.

“…Alright. Good luck, Ragnar-nii.”

Ragnar looked at Suguru Geto.

“Geto. Picking on a young girl isn’t exactly impressive.”

Suguru Geto’s expression darkened.

“Ragnar, she isn’t some ordinary young girl. Since when can an ordinary girl cave in someone’s skull with her bare hands?”

Ragnar paused.

“That’s fair.”

Then his expression settled.

“Geto, it’s time to stop.”

Suguru Geto laughed under his breath.

“You’re still saying that? Even now?”

His voice rose.

“You really are naive, Ragnar!”

“Think whatever you want.”

Ragnar’s eyes sharpened.

“I’ll straighten out that twisted worldview of yours myself.”

“Ha… hahaha!”

Suguru Geto’s laughter grew louder.

“Then try it!”

He raised his hand.

“Ragnar!”

Suguru Geto controlled both Uzumaki and Tamamo-no-Mae Incarnate, sending them directly at Ragnar Kagenou.

Golden ripples spread across the horizon.

In an instant, Jujutsu High was illuminated by a brilliant golden light.

Suguru Geto narrowed his eyes.

“Against a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, numbers are meaningless, Ragnar.”

Ragnar smiled faintly.

“These are only for atmosphere.”

Golden weapons slowly emerged from the ripples behind him.

“After all, this is a battle between Special Grades. It would be disappointing if it wasn’t at least a little flashy.”

As Ragnar said, he had merely opened the Gate of Babylon.

If he truly wanted to kill Suguru Geto, it would not be difficult.

“Quality, then?”

His smile faded.

“Fine. I’ll show you what quality really means.”

From the golden ripples, a radiant spear slowly emerged.

Its presence alone made the air tremble.

The spear of the sun god.

A single-use divine weapon meant to kill even gods.

Its name was—

Vasavi Shakti.

——————

Noble Phantasm: Vasavi Shakti

Rank: EX

Type: Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm

A divine spear granted to Karna by the god Indra.

It is a one-use weapon of absolute destruction, capable of killing even gods. In exchange for surrendering his golden armor, Karna obtained this spear as a final trump card.

Once released, it burns with the authority of the sun and lightning, piercing through divine mystery itself.