"Roar—!!!"
Accompanied by a roar that seemed to come from the depths of the earth, Hanami was the first to break the suffocating standoff.
It couldn't bear it.
As a Special Grade Cursed Spirit, an embodiment of nature itself, it actually felt a sliver of fear before a human youth who possessed no cursed energy whatsoever.
This sense of humiliation instantly ignited its fury.
The ground split apart.
Countless thick roots, like berserk giant pythons, instantly burst from the soil. Carrying a sickening scent of decay, they surged forward to crush the tiny figure.
Each root was thicker than an adult's waist, their surfaces covered in hard bark and lined with sharp barbs.
A mere graze would likely tear flesh from bone.
"Yoru! Get out of there!!"
Maki's pupils constricted. She reflexively gripped Playful Cloud, wanting to rush in and help, but Noritoshi Kamo held her back firmly.
"Don't! Attacks of that caliber... going in there is just suicide!"
Noritoshi Kamo's voice was trembling.
They weren't even in the same league.
Yet, facing the sea of trees that threatened to swallow everything, Yoru remained standing where he was, unmoving.
His hand rested lightly on the hilt of the blade at his waist.
His breathing became long and scorching.
Total Concentration: Sun Breathing.
An invisible yet clearly palpable heat erupted from him as the center.
"Clang—"
The crisp sound of a blade being drawn rang out with startling clarity across the chaotic battlefield.
A crimson flash flickered by.
It wasn't the glow of cursed energy.
It was a pure fire of will, one that seemed capable of igniting everything.
In the next second.
An unbelievable sight unfolded.
The massive roots that had been charging with enough momentum to crush steel, the moment they came within three meters of Yoru's body...
...actually began to wither inexplicably!
Their once lush and hard bark instantly turned charred and cracked, as if they had been tossed into a blast furnace, losing all signs of life.
"This is..."
For the first time, a look of shock appeared in Hanami's usually expressionless eyes.
Its technique involved manipulating plants.
As long as there was life, even if they were severed, it could regenerate them instantly.
But now...
The severed roots didn't leak any sap. Instead, the cuts looked cauterized, emitting a burnt smell.
They couldn't regenerate at all!
"Your plants are afraid."
Yoru's calm voice cut through the layers of shifting shadows, reaching Hanami's ears clearly.
He looked up, the vast sea of trees reflected in his crimson pupils.
Yet there wasn't a hint of a ripple in them.
Only beneath that calm, a battle intent as hot as molten lava surged.
"Because they know..."
"The sun has risen."
Before his words even faded.
Yoru's figure suddenly vanished.
No, not vanished.
He was just too fast!
So fast that he left a trail of afterimages on everyone's retinas.
Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Fake Rainbow.
Hanami's vision blurred, seeing what felt like countless versions of Yoru weaving through the sea of trees.
In a rage, it manipulated even more roots to perform an indiscriminate attack, attempting to shred all the afterimages.
But every single attack missed.
Those afterimages were like illusory solar halos, completely untouchable.
Meanwhile, the real Yoru had already appeared silently behind its flank.
Shiranui swept through silently, trailing a wave of scorching air.
*Slash—*
Hanami's left arm, which was as hard as a Special Grade Cursed Tool, was sliced through as easily as tofu!
The cut was smooth as a mirror.
Immediately after, an indescribable agony surged through Hanami's nerves.
"Aaaaagh—!!!"
Hanami let out a blood-curdling scream.
It discovered in horror that the wound wasn't healing rapidly like it usually did.
Instead, an incredibly overbearing, scorching power clung to the wound, frantically destroying its cells and preventing cursed energy from repairing the damage.
That was the majesty of the sun.
For plants, sunlight is the source of life.
But if that sunlight becomes too intense, it becomes a deadly poison.
"How is this possible..."
"He clearly has no cursed energy..."
"Why... does it hurt this much?!"
Hanami clutched its severed arm, staggering backward as the shock in its eyes turned into deep-seated terror.
Looking at the human boy holding a black blade and radiating incredible heat, an absurd thought suddenly surfaced in its mind.
This wasn't just some human; this was clearly...
The natural enemy of all vegetation!
Yoru slowly flicked away the non-existent blood from his blade, pointing the tip diagonally toward the ground.
The surrounding air shimmered and distorted from the high temperature.
He looked at Hanami, his gaze as indifferent as a god's.
"Shall we continue?"
"The next strike will sever..."
"...your neck."
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