The moonlight was like water.
Yukio rode his beloved motorcycle leisurely on the way home.
He could ride this road with his eyes closed.
Few people, few cars, perfect for speeding.
Then he saw a black semi-transparent barrier suddenly appear in the sky.
“A curtain?”
Yukio immediately slammed the brakes.
The tires scraped a black mark across the ground.
He looked up at the huge barrier slowly descending and enclosing him inside.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
“No way…
I’m just heading home.
Don’t tell me someone’s trying to ambush me?”
He pulled out his phone.
‘No signal.
As expected…’
He glanced at the time and calmly put the phone back in his pocket.
“Ten minutes left.”
This was the agreement between him and Toji.
If he wasn’t home by then and didn’t answer the phone, it meant something had happened.
As for who something happened to…
Yukio grinned.
“Better pray you can deal with me before my brother gets here.”
This was what caution looked like.
Couldn’t help it.
The dirty jobs they’d done before made it easy for people to target them, so they made this rule.
He was just about to get back on the bike and see if he could rush out of the curtain’s range.
BOOM!!!
An attack came from the side.
Yukio’s pupils shrank.
His body reacted instinctively as he instantly abandoned the bike and jumped away.
Golden Scale was already in his hand.
BOOM!
His beloved motorcycle turned into a fireball, parts scattering everywhere.
Yukio landed on the ground and looked at the burning wreckage with pain on his face.
“F*ck…”
“That’s a limited edition I customized!
I spent a lot of allowance money on it!”
He raised his head, eyes dangerous.
“You better have a good enough reason for me not to chop you up and feed you to cursed spirits.”
Two figures slowly walked out of the darkness.
One held a giant scythe and smiled like a standard villain.
“Hahaha!
Kid, compared to your bike, shouldn’t you be more worried about yourself?”
The other rested a short blade on his shoulder, full of disdain.
“We need both of us just to kill a brat?
Does the employer have too much money to spend?”
The scythe user, Kariya Ryo, narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t underestimate him.”
“This kid has a record of killing a second grade sorcerer.”
Yukio looked at the two of them, quickly searching through information in his head.
“Kariya Ryo…
Yoneuchi Hiro…”
He tilted his head.
“Two sorcerers close to first grade strength came all the way here just to kill me?”
“Who hired you?
How much did they pay?
I’ll offer double.”
Yoneuchi Hiro sneered, “Dead people don’t need to know the employer’s information.”
He waved the Soul Release Blade in his hand, the blade glowing with a cold light.
“Kid, that Heavenly Restriction you’re so proud of…”
“It’s useless against this blade.”
Yukio raised a brow.
“Oh?”
Yoneuchi Hiro lovingly stroked the blade.
“Special grade cursed tool.”
“Ability: ignores all physical defense and attacks the soul directly, slicing it apart.”
He grinned cruelly.
“In other words, that body strengthened by Heavenly Restriction is no different from tofu in front of it.”
Yukio’s eyes lit up.
“A special grade cursed tool?
Ignores hardness?
Directly cuts souls?”
“Good stuff!”
Yoneuchi Hiro froze.
‘That reaction…
Isn’t right.’
‘Shouldn’t a normal person be scared?
Why does this kid look happy?’
“Kariya Ryo, don’t interfere.”
Yoneuchi Hiro gripped the Soul Release Blade tightly, “Let me play with this brat.”
He stepped forward and slashed down.
This slash was very slow…
So slow that Yukio casually dodged it with a sidestep.
Yukio looked at him in confusion.
“That’s it?”
But Yoneuchi Hiro smiled and began revealing his technique.
“My cursed technique is called ‘One Blade Three Bows.'”
“It comes from the Buddhist ritual of one bow and three kneels, giving my slashes the meaning of reverence.”
He raised one finger.
“First Bow: First Stage.”
“As long as my blade cuts you, even just a scratch, for the next minute you’ll be ‘remembered’ by my cursed energy.”
“No matter how you dodge, hide, or run…”
“I’ll always clearly sense your location.”
Yukio lowered his head and checked himself.
He really hadn’t been scratched.
“That is…
if you can hit me.”
“And I really hate Buddhism.”
He tightened his grip on Golden Scale, his expression becoming serious.
Both of them were close combat types.
Their cursed techniques were support abilities.
One could sense locations, and the other’s ability was still unknown.
Most importantly…
Could that Soul Release Blade really cut souls directly?
He couldn’t gamble on it.
Yukio quickly analyzed the situation.
‘Stall for time until brother arrives.’
‘Ten minutes…
no, only eight minutes left now.’
He glanced around.
The curtain was still there.
“By the way, can this thing stop my brother?”
“Could it be a targeted curtain?”
“Probably not…”
Yoneuchi Hiro swung his blade again.
This time the blade moved much faster.
Combined with his martial arts, the attacks were sharp and fierce.
Using the superhuman physical ability granted by Heavenly Restriction, Yukio dodged again and again.
But he didn’t recklessly counterattack.
Kariya Ryo was still watching from the side like a tiger eyeing prey.
“What’s wrong, kid?
Can you only dodge?”
Yoneuchi Hiro pressed forward step by step, every strike aimed to kill.
Yukio suddenly smiled.
“The two of you bullying one minor…”
“Do you even have any shame?”
“Exactly.”
Yukio suddenly stopped moving.
“So I wasn’t planning on fighting fair with you either.”
He raised his left hand toward the ground.
“Shadow Soldier, come out.”
The moment he finished speaking.
The shadows on the ground started writhing like living things.
A huge silhouette slowly rose from the darkness.
It was the cursed spirit he had absorbed before.
Even if it looked a little clumsy, it was still quasi-first grade.
Yoneuchi Hiro’s pupils shrank.
“What?!”
Kariya Ryo instantly gripped his scythe tightly.
“This kid can control cursed spirits?!”
“Impossible!
He clearly has no cursed energy!”
Standing behind the cursed spirit, Yukio smiled like a villain.
“Surprised?
Unexpected?”
“Come on, play with my pet.”
The cursed spirit let out a low roar and lunged at Yoneuchi Hiro.
Yoneuchi Hiro was forced to fight back and slashed the cursed spirit with his blade.
The Soul Release Blade really was powerful.
It directly cut into the cursed spirit’s core.
But cursed spirits felt no pain and no fear.
It still attacked wildly.
“Damn it!
This thing isn’t afraid of death!”
“And why are there so many of them?!”
Yukio ignored the battle over there.
His gaze locked onto Kariya Ryo.
This scythe guy hadn’t made a move yet.
His strength was probably higher than Yoneuchi Hiro’s.
“Aren’t you coming?”
Yukio crooked a finger.
“Or are you scared of my Shadow Soldiers too?”
Kariya Ryo was silent for a second, then suddenly laughed.
“Interesting.”
“No wonder the employer was willing to spend so much money to kill you.”
He raised his scythe.
“But do you think a cursed spirit at this level can hold us back for long?”
“Once Yoneuchi Hiro deals with that thing, it’ll be two against one.
Do you still think you can win?”
Yukio shrugged, “No need to wait that long.”
He checked the time.
“Five minutes left.”
Kariya Ryo frowned, “What do you mean five minutes?”
Yukio grinned, “The time limit from my agreement with my brother.”
“If I don’t get home within five minutes and don’t answer my phone…”
“He’ll come looking for me.”
Yukio showed a bright smile, “My brother, Zenin Toji.
You should know him, right?”
Kariya Ryo’s expression finally changed.
Zenin Toji.
The man with no cursed energy who had killed countless sorcerers over the years.
The monster the jujutsu world called the “Heavenly Tyrant.”
Rumor said he only did all this dirty work to earn tuition money and living expenses for his younger brother.
If he came…
“End this quickly!”
Kariya Ryo stopped hesitating and charged forward with his scythe.
Yukio took a deep breath and gripped Golden Scale tightly.
“It’s only five minutes…”
“I can hold out!”