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"PHOBETOR"
Just as the Cursed Spirit introduced himself to Lucy, he flinched, spinning around as a visible drop of sweat rolled from his brow. What is that?!
From the red mist surrounding the forest, the silhouette of the Divine General made itself known.
The Sword of Extermination burning with the searing light of Reverse Cursed Technique, and the Wheel of Harmony hovering majestically above its crown.
SWISH!
"Found You," Taking advantage of the spirit's distraction, Ethan activated Boogie Woogie.
In an instant, he and Lucy switched places. Ethan appeared in the clearing, covered in purple gore that slowly evaporated from his skin, while Lucy was teleported safely outside the combat zone.
He dropped into a striking stance, his center of gravity low and his hand encased in a Destroyer Gauntlet imbued with Tora's essence.
BLACK FLASH!
He lunged forward, driving a fist into the back of the Cursed Spirit, which had register his presence, and was turning around.
Black and red lightning exploded at the point of contact. The Cursed Spirit was launched violently towards the Divine General, who simply brought down the Sword of Extermination, bisecting the creature into two unequal halves.
The mist dissipated from the sheer aftershock of the swing. Ethan arrived beside the Divine General via Shadow Manipulation, eyeing the dissolving form of the Cursed Spirit with a wary gaze.
"It can't be this easy," he muttered.
On command, A murder of Raiju erupted from his shadow, bolting in all directions at subsonic speeds and parting the remaining mist with their sheer velocity.
As Ethan felt the connection to his chimeras being severed one by one, he resumed his fighting stance. "It's not over," he spoke, as Mahoraga stepped forward to cover his back.
"Huhuhu... The strongest sorcerer arises. Tell me, Park... wouldn't it be terrifying to fight an enemy you cannot defeat? Huhuhu " The Cursed Spirit reappeared to the north of their position, its body now scaled to a colossal size, towering even over Mahoraga's massive frame.
Clunk.
The Wheel of Harmony spun once more.
Four more rotations until Mahoraga can bypass his technique, Ethan calculated.
I don't want to use my Domain yet; there could be other Special Grade spirits lying in wait for this fight to end. Too many unknowns here.
'I don't think so, Ethan,' Tora spoke through their mental link. 'I didn't sense it before because of his technique, but now that I am seeing him... this spirit has recently undergone metamorphosis. It has only just emerged from its dormant womb state.'
"What are you saying, Tora? Speak clearly," Ethan commanded.
'I am saying this Cursed Spirit is likely only a few days old,' Tora clarified.
Gulp.
"Hahaha," Ethan relaxed his stance slightly and pointed toward Mahoraga. "Well, well... I guess there's a first time for everything. The big guy's ability is to adapt to any and all phenomena; it's represented by the turning of that wheel. My technique allows me to summon a total of ten Shikigami and their RCT forms, as well as their Chimeras."
Ethan Park had enacted the binding vow of "Revealing One's Hand."
His Cursed Energy Output is increasing, did he sacrifice his element of suprise in return for boost in his power? The Cursed spirit thought.
"Any and all phenomena? Was that noise the sound of the wheel turning?" Phobetor spoke outloud, his brow furrowing as he eyed the Divine General and the wheel. How scary! That thing has to go first.
He quickly composed himself. "Telling me about your technique... how desperate you must feel."
He knows Mahoraga has RCT from the previous attack. I was planning on ending this fight quickly, Ethan thought. I guess I have to use 'that'.
Ethan found himself remembering the most powerful Cursed Technique in history of JJK.
It wasn't Shrine, the innate technique of the King of Curses.
It wasn't Limitless, which made the Honored One untouchable.
Hell, it wasn't even the Ten Shadows, which, in the worst-case scenario, guaranteed a lose-lose outcome via the taming ritual of the Divine General.
It was Comedian.
Fumihiko Takaba, a stand-up comic of the modern era, had awakened that ability—a power that brought any scenario he found funny into reality, allowing him to alter his environment, materialize objects, and become functionally invulnerable.
The Cursed Technique Terror was the exact opposite of Comedian, but no less versatile in its application.
But you are different from Takaba, aren't you? After all, you are aware of your own Cursed Technique, Ethan thought with a furrowed brow. That just makes you more...
As he faced Phobetor, the red devil of the modern age, he reached into his shadow and brought out the Destroyer Lamp housing the Aether—the Reality Stone itself—which Odin had given him as per their binding vow.
Using his right hand, he brought the lamp to eye level. It began to glow with an ominous crimson light. The Divine General, sensing Ethan's intent, gave a toothy grin and began dissolving into his shadow.
"Clunk."
What is that lamp? No... there is a more urgent issue... another spin! Phobetor thought in a panic. I can't let that thing continue his adaptation.
On instinct alone, the Special Grade Cursed Spirit understood that Mahoraga would require only three more turns to bypass his Cursed Technique.
Phobetor activated his power as the scenery began changing again; however, as it reached its climax, the world started reverting to its original state.
"Huh? WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Phobetor shouted over the shifting landscape. He can't have adapted just yet. That lamp... it's that lamp!
"You are counteracting my Cursed Technique... we are in a stalemate then," the cursed spirit noted. "Both our abilities are perfect counters for each other."
Clunk. "Clunk."
Two spins, one after another!? Phobetor thought. Only one more left...
"This isn't a stalemate, worm. This is a countdown," Ethan replied, both of his hands now outstretched.
"Clunk."
"And the clock just ticked zero," Ethan proclaimed.
The shadow beneath Phobetor shifted as a massive white hand emerged, wielding the Sword of Extermination.
The strike connected directly with the Cursed Spirit's core mass. A blinding white light of Reverse Cursed Technique filled the scene, and as it subsided, they were back in a quiet, snow-covered neighborhood of Fairview.
Ethan stood over the dissipating form of the Cursed Spirit, which had reverted to its "Justin" guise. In the boy's trembling voice, the creature muttered, "Make... it... stop... it hurts... everything... hurts... Mercy... Please... show... mercy..."
Ethan closed his eyes, his senses picking up the carnage left behind by the cursed spirit.
"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff," Ethan replied, turning his back and walking away without a second glance.
The Special Grade Cursed Spirit, Phobetor, had been exorcised.
'Sorry, Po. I can't take the risk of underestimating this one,' Ethan spoke through his mental link.
To weaken a spirit for Cursed Spirit Manipulation absorption, one usually needs to beat it into physical submission. However, Phobetor's reality-warping made "damage" entirely subjective. Every time Ethan would have moved to weaken it, the spirit could have shifted the "Terror" to negate the harm, just as it had during their initial encounter.
"Ethan, you madman, how did you know it would work?" Tora asked, clearly bewildered by the turn of events.
"I didn't," Ethan simply answered. Kitsune emerged from his shadow, and he began petting her soft fur. "Good job, Lady. Those 'Clunk' noises were realistic enough to fool even me." At his praise, the Kitsune began licking his face enthusiastically. "Hahaha... okay, okay! That's enough... Hahaha!"
"The Divine General had only completed three turns; he still needed three more before he could truly adapt to 'Terror.' But by using Kitsune's illusions, she made it sound like the wheel had turned six times. You used the Cursed Spirit's own technique against him," Tora noted.
The bluff worked because Phobetor believed Mahoraga had finished the adaptation, his own "Terror" technique began to fail him. In his mind, Mahoraga was now an "unstoppable force" that had bypassed his defenses. His own fear stimulated the reality-warping logic of his technique.
Ethan looked upward at the night sky, a little bashful from such straightforward praise. "Ah.. it was teamwork."
Then, he looked around and stretched, the oppressive tension finally leaving his frame.
"Stop the evacuation. I think there will be plenty of civilians in need of our help. Create healing zones—you know the drill," he ordered, his voice echoing to the thousands of Rabbit Escape shikigami scattered across Fairview.
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A/N: So how was the chapter?
Next Chapter is Aftermath and then Timeskip To Captain America: WS