Deafening pachinko music echoed wildly through the skies of Tokyo Colony No. 2!
Blinding neon lights illuminated this abandoned container terminal until it was as bright as day.
"JACKPOT!!!"
"PROBABILITY CHANGE! GRAND PRIZE!!"
Accompanied by the domain's obnoxiously loud, cheap, plastic-sounding mechanical female announcement, an overwhelming torrent of cursed energy erupted instantly from the slick-backed, ruffian-faced man!
"Hahahaha! Can you feel it?! This is my 'fever'!"
Kinji Hakari threw his head back, letting the infinitely overflowing cursed energy manifest as visible golden aura over his skin.
He violently tore his tattered shirt to shreds, exposing a physique chiseled like solid steel.
Opposite him,
Noritoshi Kamo knelt on one knee, gasping violently for breath.
This genius of the Big Three Families from Kyoto School was now in utter disarray.
Half of his face was swollen, his uniform drenched in blood, and his hands trembled uncontrollably from overusing Blood Manipulation.
"Damn it... Just what kind of monster is this guy?!"
Noritoshi stared fixedly at the overwhelmingly imposing Kinji Hakari, unable to hide the despair in his eyes.
Over the past fifteen minutes,
he had already used every technique at his disposal.
Flowing Red Scale to push his physical limits, Convergence: Piercing Blood for supersonic sniping, and he had even slammed his most perilous Blood Meteor directly into the man!
Just one minute ago, he had clearly impaled Kinji Hakari's heart with a pinpoint-accurate Piercing Blood.
Against any normal sorcerer, such a wound would have guaranteed certain death.
And yet,
accompanied by the chime of that damned pachinko domain announcing another 'jackpot,'
the fatal, gaping bloody hole in Kinji Hakari's chest had completely healed amidst a burst of glaring white steam in less than half a second!
Not even a trace of a scar remained!
"It's useless, Kamo-kun."
Perched atop a distant shipping container, Kirara Hoshi idly fiddled with their fingers, grinning down at the fight.
"As long as Kin-chan hits a 'jackpot' in his domain,"
"for the next four minutes and eleven seconds, his cursed energy stays in a state of infinite overflow."
"In this state, to prevent his body from collapsing, Kin-chan's body automatically performs limit-breaking Reverse Cursed Technique healing."
"In other words, during these four minutes and eleven seconds..."
"He is truly, literally immortal!"
Kirara Hoshi's words were like a sledgehammer, shattering the final shred of hope in Noritoshi Kamo's heart.
Infinite cursed energy? Automatic Reverse Cursed Technique? Immortality?!
What kind of bullshit ability was this?!
How could anyone possibly defeat a cursed technique this completely unreasonable?!
"Hey, Kyoto School's little master."
Kinji Hakari cracked his neck with a crisp pop and began walking toward Noritoshi Kamo step by step.
With every stride, the concrete under his feet splintered into spiderweb cracks, unable to bear the terrifying pressure of his cursed energy.
"Your 'fever'—I definitely felt it."
"Unfortunately, though."
"In my casino, those without enough chips don't get to sit at the table forever."
BOOM!
Before his voice even finished fading, Kinji Hakari vanished from the spot!
'Fast!'
Noritoshi's pupils shrank. Even boosted by Flowing Red Scale, his dynamic vision could barely catch a fleeting golden afterimage!
"Blood Manipulation: Blood Blade!"
Noritoshi bit his tongue, recklessly squeezing out the remainder of his blood to form two razor-sharp crimson blades across his forearms in an attempt to parry the lethal strike.
Yet before absolute violence, technique was utterly meaningless.
BANG!
Kinji Hakari's fist, coated in infinite cursed energy and carrying destructive, rampaging power, slammed brutally into the blood blades!
CRACK!
The iron-hard blood blades couldn't hold out for even a single second; fractures instantly spread across them before they shattered to pieces!
A massive recoil surged through his arms into his body. Noritoshi's chest heaved as he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood.
Like a kite with a snapped string, he flew backward, crashing straight through three shipping containers before grinding to a halt.
"Cough, cough..."
Noritoshi struggled to raise his head from the rubble, his vision already blurring.
He had lost.
Thoroughly and utterly defeated.
Before absolute immortality and infinite cursed energy, his Blood Manipulation was as laughable as a child's toy.
Just as he thought death was upon him and prepared to close his eyes and accept his fate,
a rough hand suddenly seized his collar, hoisting him out of the wreckage like a chick.
"I don't hate gamblers who give it their all."
Kinji Hakari looked at the blood-soaked Noritoshi, a wild, arrogant smirk spreading across his roguish face.
"Little master, your skills are passable. You're barely qualified to be my chip."
"Right now, I'll give you two choices."
Kinji Hakari yanked Noritoshi closer, his feral eyes locking onto him.
"First, let me beat you to death right here, until nothing's left of you."
"Second, join my crew, stake your life on my table, and run wild with me in this piece-of-shit Culling Game!"
"Join me, or die."
"Choose."
Noritoshi froze.
Looking at this man who seemed to burn with endless flames, and feeling the unreasonable dominance and sheer madness radiating off him, the Big Three pride Noritoshi had clung to for so long crumbled away completely.
Faced with the threat of death and standing before absolute strength, he had no other choice.
"I'll... I'll join."
Noritoshi gritted his teeth, forcing out those few words before lowering his noble head.
"Hahahahaha! Excellent!"
Kinji Hakari released his grip, letting Noritoshi slump to the ground, and threw his head back in wild, roaring laughter.
"Kirara! Take this guy and get him treated!"
"Starting today, Tokyo Colony No. 2 is Kinji Hakari's turf!"
"Whoever dares step into my casino follows my rules!"
With Noritoshi Kamo's submission, the thorniest resistance in Tokyo Colony No. 2 had been thoroughly swept aside.
Kinji Hakari, the third-year problem child who had been suspended for beating up higher-ups, officially became the absolute overlord of this slaughtering barrier.
Yet just as Kinji Hakari was about to relish the joy of victory,
HUMMM—!
The ground suddenly sent up a faint yet persistent tremor.
This trembling was no physical earthquake; it was a terrifying surge of cursed energy that had carried itself across hundreds of kilometers all the way here!
The smile on Kinji Hakari's face vanished instantly.
He snapped his head toward the direction of Tokyo Colony No. 1.
Even through the thick veil of clouds, he could vaguely sense that a superheated tempest capable of wiping out everything had just erupted over there.
"Kin-chan, what is it?" Kirara Hoshi asked, sensing something wrong as they stepped forward.
"Over in Colony No. 1... seems like a hell of a monster showed up."
Kinji Hakari narrowed his eyes, his lips curling again into a grin that was even wilder and more thrilled.
He could feel the blood boiling inside his veins from that distant presence.
That was the 'fever' that only came when facing a truly thrilling gamble.
"Kirara, go look into it."
Kinji Hakari licked his dry lips, uncontainable battle lust burning in his eyes.
"Find out who the bastard is that punched clean through Colony No. 1."
"I've got a feeling..."
"My next high-stakes gamble is about to begin."
Inside this barrier shrouded in death and madness, the wildest gambler had already caught the scent of the finest prey.
And that storm sweeping across the entire Culling Game was now closing in on his casino with unstoppable momentum.
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