Fast.
But he could still dodge.
As Kashimo pressed his advance, he ducked low.
The flying spear only grazed his left hand, leaving no significant damage, and he had already closed the distance to Kinoshita.
…Smiling?
Why?
Kashimo’s right arm instantly detached from his body, and a spear-like blast of lightning violently erupted forward.
Partially converting a section of his body into electricity using the ability of Mythical Beast Amber—this was a concept he had envisioned long ago in his past life.
However, among all those who had fought him back then, not a single one had pushed him far enough to even grasp Reverse Cursed Technique.
Therefore, upon finally learning Reverse Cursed Technique, Kashimo immediately adopted this “self-mutilating” combat style.
The hurled right arm was swatted away by Kinoshita.
Forming a palm with his right hand, Kinoshita struck fiercely at Kashimo.
Cleave.
Just as Kashimo’s left fist met Kinoshita’s right palm, it was instantly shredded into pieces by continuous slashes.
But the exact moment it detached, Kashimo’s severed left hand completely transformed into a ball of lightning.
As Kashimo was blown back by the cursed energy carrying the slashes, the lightning violently detonated.
Having broken away from close-quarters combat, Kashimo immediately looked back.
The shadow spear had vanished; in its place was a black sphere expanding outward from where the spear had been.
Through Kashimo’s cursed energy perception, the black sphere was still continuously swelling.
If he had been hit by that thing just now, he likely would have had to fully unleash Mythical Beast Amber just to escape intact.
He has to stop him from chanting his next incantation.
Kashimo’s Reverse Cursed Technique ran at full power, and both of his hands regenerated.
But in that sub-second diversion of his gaze, when he looked back at the lingering dust, only the residual traces of Kinoshita’s cursed energy remained.
Following the cursed energy trail, Kashimo looked up.
Kinoshita was flapping his wings, hovering in the sky.
Kinoshita raised his hand.
Kashimo’s pupils contracted.
In the brief moment he sensed the humming in the air, his body, already dodging to the left, was violently struck by a bolt of lightning.
Having narrowly dodged the brunt of the blast, Kashimo panted heavily while activating his Reverse Cursed Technique once more.
Not only was Kinoshita’s Reverse Cursed Technique far more refined than his own, but even his lightning technique didn’t fall behind in the slightest.
To defeat him…
is fully unleashing Mythical Beast Amber my only option?
Let me get accustomed to it first…
like this, an incomplete Mythical Beast Amber.
Kashimo took a deep breath. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
His left hand was instantly engulfed in lightning.
Then, he violently severed his fully electrified left hand.
With his rapidly regenerating new left hand, he grabbed the severed arm—now morphed into a “javelin” by Mythical Beast Amber—and hurled it fiercely at Kinoshita in the sky.
During their previous exchanges, a significant amount of negative charge had been embedded into Kinoshita’s body, while Kashimo had loaded the tip of the “javelin” with a massive amount of positive charge.
Therefore, theoretically, this strike was a guaranteed hit.
But theory is always just theory.
“Ah! So you noticed! Well… it would be weirder if you didn’t.”
The javelin Kashimo threw was drawn away by a ball of electricity Kinoshita casually tossed out.
The orb, now charged with Kashimo’s own cursed energy, violently crashed into the ground where Kashimo had just been standing.
The cursed energy explosion leveled another large stretch of the street.
“Don’t let your guard down.”
Dismantle, lightning orbs, rapid-fire Dismantle, thunderstorms.
The moment he heard Kinoshita’s voice, Kashimo instantly modified his legs and eyes.
Bolstering his agility and reflexes in a split second, he continuously weaved through Kinoshita’s relentless barrage.
However, the interwoven net of varied cursed energy attacks still managed to leave several gashes across his body.
A slash instantly sheared through the building behind him.
Kashimo slid underneath it, then vaulted upward as a charged lightning orb landed right where he had been.
Amidst the explosion and billowing dust, several invisible slashes swept toward him.
Unable to dodge in time, Kashimo’s arm was severed.
Instead of immediately regenerating, he capitalized on the sudden weight reduction, kicking hard off the floor to launch himself into the air.
In mid-air, Kashimo’s arm slowly regenerated.
But just as he closed in on Kinoshita, Kashimo partially released Mythical Beast Amber, morphing the incompletely healed arm into the limb of the a mythical beast he envisioned in his mind.
He threw a punch—surging cursed energy blasted from the scales on his fist, tearing toward Kinoshita alongside crackling lightning.
Kinoshita raised his guard, but his mid-air stance was rocked by the blow.
Decisively, Kinoshita dismissed the wings that made him a floating target, and immediately returned a punch of his own.
Kashimo met the strike with his other fist.
With an arc of lightning exploding in mid-air, both of them plummeted and landed on the ground almost simultaneously.
Kashimo immediately swayed forward to close the gap.
Curling his claw into a fist, while Mythical Beast Amber continuously churned his flesh and dragged him ever closer to “death,” he stepped heavily toward Kinoshita.
That overwhelming sensation gripped him once again, and explosive black lightning erupted from his Qilin-morphed arm.
Kinoshita’s body was sent flying under the force of the power to the 2.5th exponent, crashing into a convenience store across the street.
But instantly, several store shelves, wrapped in lightning, shot out like projectiles.
Kashimo threw rapid punches, smashing the shelves back.
Following right behind them was Kinoshita, casually stepping out of the store while tearing open a bag of potato chips.
He even tossed a few into his mouth and chewed.
Kashimo instantly lunged right in front of him.
As the half-empty bag of chips was launched into the air, the two locked into brutal close-quarters brawling once more.
Rejuvenated by the Black Flash, Kashimo was once again able to run his Reverse Cursed Technique at full output.
The healing, which had previously slowed down due to repairing his eyes and nervous system, flared back to life.
Kashimo curled his claw into a fist again.
The moment he swung, he detonated his lightning cursed energy once more—at this exact second, the accumulated charge on Kinoshita’s body had reached its threshold again.
“Eat this! Strongest!!”
Roaring, Kashimo threw a devastating punch.
Kinoshita didn’t dodge or evade; he let the strike connect.
As the explosive lightning violently crashed into Kinoshita, Kashimo felt it—the man before him had not been stumped by the accumulated charge.
The punch, which should have detonated his cursed energy core, was blocked by a suddenly manifested wing.
Then, the entire wing was blown apart—
The remaining half of the wing violently repelled Kashimo.
His body was blasted away, tumbling awkwardly across the ruined street for several rolls before finally stabilizing his stance.
“『Rebirth』”
“『Eyes of the Three Realms』”
“Don’t even think about it!!”
Kashimo immediately raised an open palm.
The Nyoi Staff shot out from the city ruins behind Kinoshita, striking him and interrupting his incantation—but the blow only delayed him for a second.
Kinoshita raised his hand once more.
“『Rebirth. Eyes of the Three Realms. Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.』”
Kashimo instinctively felt that something was wrong.
He immediately hurled his Nyoi Staff like a javelin, but it still wasn’t enough to stop Kinoshita from finishing the incantation.
“『Cursed Technique Reversal: Light』”
Kashimo saw the blinding light rushing toward him—instantly, he fully unleashed Mythical Beast Amber.
A beam resembling a pillar of light grazed Kashimo’s cheek, and only then did he realize a crucial fact.
That beam of cursed energy-formed light had not hit him.
And he had not actually fully activated his technique.