"Nishimiya! You're not high enough! You'll get caught in the crossfire!"
Mechamaru's cold, mechanical voice was filled with an unprecedented sense of urgency and resolve.
His massive mechanical frame stood like a steel fortress in the middle of the forest clearing.
His giant mechanical arms swung wildly, trying to lock onto the black-clad youth hovering in the air.
But he couldn't.
The boy was like a ghost defying the laws of physics, hanging upside down against the vault of the sky, his silhouette flickering in the refracted sunlight.
"Is this... the Special Grade Cursed Tool, Shiranui?"
Momo Nishimiya pulled desperately on her broom to gain altitude, her entire body stiff with tension.
She looked down at the figure silhouetted against the sun.
The midday sun poured from behind him, gilding his outline in gold, making him look both divine and terrifying.
Even from this distance, Momo could feel a prickling sensation on her back, as if she would be cut down the moment she dared to move.
He didn't even lift a finger.
Just that gaze, looking down on all living things, robbed her of the courage to even flee.
...
Meanwhile, in the Goodwill Event observation room.
The atmosphere was so heavy it felt like it could condense into water.
Every screen was focused on the patch of forest glowing red with cursed energy reactions.
"Is this the Kyoto School's ace in the hole?"
Satoru Gojo sat with his legs crossed, holding a half-eaten Kikufuku, his usual frivolous smile on his face.
"Massive cursed energy from a Heavenly Restriction combined with modern technological firepower... Principal Gakuganji, you've certainly done your math."
Yoshinobu Gakuganji's wrinkled face remained expressionless, though his grip on his staff tightened slightly.
"In a sorcerer's battle, the methods don't matter as long as the curse is exorcised."
"That boy Yoru may have incredible physical prowess, but in the end, he has no cursed energy."
"Against absolute firepower, how long can a mere mortal body last?"
"Mechamaru's next strike could turn even a Special Grade Cursed Spirit into ash if it takes a direct hit."
Gojo took another bite of his Kikufuku and spoke with his mouth full.
"Is that so?"
"Then keep those eyes of yours wide open, old man."
"See for yourself what a mortal who transcends common sense looks like."
His sunglasses slipped slightly, a flicker of playfulness dancing in his cerulean Six Eyes.
...
Back on the battlefield.
"Don't just stand there! Get out of the way!"
Noritoshi Kamo shouted from below, his voice high-pitched with tension.
As the next head of the Kamo clan, he could sense Mechamaru gathering a terrifying amount of cursed energy.
This was Mechamaru's trump card.
Years of pain and disability endured through his Heavenly Restriction had allowed him to accumulate a massive reserve of cursed energy, which he was now releasing without reservation.
If they didn't dodge, the shockwave from this attack would catch half the arena!
"Yoru!"
Mechamaru's roar echoed through the forest, carrying a sense of cathartic madness.
"I don't care what kind of monster you are, try taking this!"
"This is every ounce of strength I've saved up just to survive in this damn world!"
[TRIPLE ULTRA CANNON: ZERO RANGE: FULL POWER OUTPUT!]
*Clank-clank—*
With the ear-grating screech of grinding metal, Mechamaru's already massive frame expanded even further.
The thrusters on his back spewed blue flames, scorching the ground black.
The armor plates on his chest slid open layer by layer to reveal a massive cannon over half a meter wide, packed with cursed energy circuits and the rifling of modern thermal weaponry.
The fusion of sorcery and technology bared its vicious fangs.
Blue cursed energy condensed frantically at the muzzle. The air hissed and popped from the high-intensity reaction, and even the light itself began to warp.
BOOM—!!!
Without warning, a colossal blue beam erupted like divine punishment piercing the heavens and earth, surging toward Yoru with world-ending momentum.
The power behind this strike was enough to vaporize a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit in an instant!
Wherever the beam passed, the air was ionized, leaving a scorched vacuum trail in its wake.
Trees in the forest disintegrated into ash the moment they touched the edge of the beam; they didn't even have time to burn.
The earth trembled as if in fear of this destructive power.
"It's over."
Kasumi Miwa closed her eyes, unable to watch what came next.
Against such a terrifying torrent of energy, a human body was as fragile as a scrap of paper.
Yet Yoru, at the center of the energy storm, didn't show the slightest change in expression.
His hair whipped about in the gale whipped up by the energy, and his clothes snapped in the wind.
But in his dark red pupils, the world-ending blue beam was reflected with a calm as though he were watching a lackluster firework display.
"Too slow."
Facing a blow capable of pulverizing steel, Yoru's lips parted slightly to utter those two words.
He didn't even draw his sword.
He simply performed a light mid-air flip like a bird playing in the currents, his grace completely at odds with the battlefield's aura of destruction.
Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Fake Rainbow.
The moment the blue beam was about to swallow him, seven or eight afterimages of Yoru appeared in the sky.
BOOM!
The beam passed through Yoru's body without resistance, blasting toward the distant horizon.
But within that beam, the Yoru that was hit dissolved like a bubble. There was no blood, no severed limbs.
Only shattered light and shadow.
"Afterimages?!"
The red lights in Mechamaru's electronic eyes flashed frantically as his processor nearly overloaded.
[WARNING: TARGET LOST! TARGET LOST!]
[RESCANNING FOR TARGET...]
[ERROR: VISUAL SENSORS AND CURSED ENERGY RADAR DATA MISMATCH!]
[WARNING: HIGH ENERGY REACTION ABOVE!]
"He's above us!"
Noritoshi Kamo looked up in horror.
Before Mechamaru could react, a gentle voice sounded from right above his head.
"Your attack was powerful."
"It was filled with an obsession to survive."
"But..."
"It's too linear."
Mechamaru snapped his head up.
The black-clad youth was already directly above him, hanging upside down like a falling star.
In that instant, the aura around Yoru shifted.
The blazing sun retracted its sharp edges, transforming into a continuous, surging flow of water.
"Since you're made of steel, let's use this to cool you down."
Water Breathing, Eighth Form: Waterfall Basin.
Shiranui left its scabbard in a flash of cold light, transforming into a roaring blue water dragon.
BOOM!
He plummeted vertically with the momentum of his blade!
The sharp blade instantly bit into the top of Mechamaru's head armor, and then—
*Screech—!!!*
The ear-piercing sound of metal being sliced through filled the air, as if to rupture everyone's eardrums.
Yoru became a streak of blue light, slicing through Mechamaru's massive frame from head to toe!
The impact of the scene was immense.
Ripples of blue Water Breathing cascaded down like a waterfall, while countless golden sparks erupted where the blade met armor, looking like brilliant fireworks.
Because of the extreme speed of friction, tiny arcs of electricity even crackled through the air, entwining with the water.
A trail of water, a trail of sparks, and a trail of lightning!
It was like a bolt of lightning from the heavens, cleaving the steel fortress in two.
The moment Yoru landed.
The sparks and water behind him had only just begun to dissipate, leaving the air thick with the smell of scorched metal and steam.
*Click.*
With a flick of his wrist, Yoru returned his long blade to its scabbard with a crisp snap.
*Crack.*
The massive mechanical body froze.
A perfectly straight, glowing red fissure extended from Mechamaru's head all the way down to his groin.
The metal at the cut had melted from the heat, dripping molten iron. The circuit boards inside were severed cleanly, exposing his intricate internal structure.
*Thud.*
The giant steel titan split in half and collapsed heavily, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Broken cables sparked and hissed.
"Mechamaru!"
Kasumi Miwa and Mai Zenin screamed in terror.
Noritoshi Kamo's face turned as pale as paper.
Just one strike!
A strike like a thunderclap, so fast not even an afterimage could be seen, had utterly severed Mechamaru's indestructible alloy armor!
This was beyond the realm of a sorcerer.
This was a divine feat!
"Don't worry, he's fine."
Yoru landed lightly on the ground, without a speck of dust on him.
He glanced at the mechanical wreckage and spoke calmly.
Though the outer shell had been sliced open, Yoru's control over his strength was absolute.
The cut had precisely avoided all core circuits and power sources; even the puppet core Mechamaru hid inside remained undamaged.
He had simply been immobilized by having his neural links severed.
"Too slow. Too fragile."
Yoru shook his head, offering his brief evaluation.
He turned to face the last one standing, Noritoshi Kamo.
His gaze remained calm, devoid of killing intent, yet it carried a suffocating pressure.
"Now, only you are left."
Noritoshi Kamo stared intently at Yoru.
His hands were shaking.
*Not from fear, but from rage and despair.*
*Was this the strength of a pending Special Grade? The man Satoru Gojo himself favored?*
*The gap between them was simply despairing!*
*As an elite of the Big Three Families, he never imagined he would feel so powerless against someone with no cursed energy.*
"It's not over yet!"
Kamo bit the tip of his tongue hard and spat out a mouthful of blood.
He couldn't lose!
For the honor of the Kamo clan! If he didn't win here, how could his family save face?
"Blood Manipulation: Flowing Red Scale: Stack!"
The veins across his body bulged, his skin flushed deep red, and he looked like a beast gone berserk.
"Yoru!"
"Take this!"
Noritoshi Kamo let out a shrill roar.
He funneled every bit of his cursed energy and blood into this single strike.
This was the strongest attack he could muster, his final stand as the heir to the Kamo family.
"Piercing Blood!!!"
*Swoosh!*
A crimson arrow of blood tore through the air at supersonic speeds, aimed right between Yoru's eyes.
It moved so fast it even left a sonic boom cloud in the air!
Yoru watched the incoming blood arrow.
His pupils contracted slightly.
This time, his hand moved to the hilt of his blade once more.
"An admirable resolve."
He spoke softly.
As he moved, an even more terrifying presence began to awaken within him.
It wasn't water.
It was the sun.
A sun even more blazing and dazzling than before.