Maki was running with all her strength, despite the pain from the wounds inflicted by her sister in their previous battle. The curse she was chasing was incredibly fast, leaving gusts of wind in its wake that made it difficult to keep up. She didn't understand why it was heading in that direction. According to what she had been told, this curse was pursuing her cousin, Naoya. That confused her even more. What was he doing here? And apparently, he had been helping Megumi and the other Kyoto student. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a loud crash.
Upon reaching a clearing, Maki came to a halt. In front of her, her cousin Naoya was facing the curse. But what surprised her the most was that Naoya was wielding a sword—more specifically, a katana. The curse was engaged in battle with him, clashing its arms, which seemed to be covered in cursed energy manifested as waves of air, against Naoya's blade.
Naoya quickly executed a series of precise movements, opening up the curse's arms and giving himself an opening. Without hesitation, he slashed at the now-exposed chest of the curse. It leapt back and, with one of its feet, kicked the edge of the katana.
"Who are you?" Kaede asked, in Naoya's body, his eyes narrowed.
The curse simply laughed. "Did you already forget me? You were always distant from the family... I'm Misaki, your younger brother..."
For a moment, Naoya's eyes widened in surprise, but then he let out a laugh, brushing his hair back, revealing his forehead. "Ah... so it's you. Let me guess... Kenkaju, right?"
His now-revealed brother just smiled. "Sharp as ever."
Before they could continue talking, Maki charged at the curse. It simply grabbed her weapon with its bare hands and threw her across the clearing, sending her flying through the trees.
"Maki-chan," Kaede said in a calm but firm voice, "this curse is beyond your level, even mine. Just give me support, and maybe we can hold out until reinforcements arrive."
Still confused, Maki struggled to her feet and simply nodded, unable to believe her cousin was accepting her help. What is going on?
"Ha... so you chose the coward's path," Misaki said with disdain.
Maki thought he was referring to Naoya accepting help, but Kaede knew the real reason behind the comment.
"You know the ways of a coward, Misaki?" Kaede replied with a smirk.
Misaki only growled before launching into another attack.
Misaki lunged at Naoya, unleashing a whirlwind of blows with his cursed-energy-covered arms. Each strike left a trail of cutting wind in its wake. Naoya, with precise movements, blocked every attack with his katana, deflecting the strikes, but the gusts of wind began to wear down his stance.
Maki, still recovering from the impact, watched the fight closely. Something about the way Naoya moved felt… different. He wasn't the arrogant and brutal cousin she remembered. His movements were elegant, almost calculated, and didn't match the image of Naoya she knew.
Shaking off those thoughts, Maki decided to act. She dashed towards Misaki's side, trying to attack him from a blind spot. The curse detected her move at the last moment, turning to block her weapon with one of its arms, but that was enough for Naoya to take advantage. In the blink of an eye, Kaede slashed through the air, cutting Misaki's leg with surgical precision.
Misaki roared in rage, releasing a burst of cursed energy in all directions, forcing Maki and Naoya to retreat. However, the combined effort of both warriors had already dealt significant damage to him.
"He's persistent..." Kaede muttered, watching Misaki with a cold smile. "But not enough."
Maki stood by his side, saying nothing, but her eyes were fixed on the curse, ready to strike again. Both were in sync, though Maki still didn't fully understand what was happening with her cousin.
Misaki, staggering, smiled despite his wounds. "You haven't seen anything yet, big brother..."
Before Kaede or Maki could move, Misaki began to focus his cursed energy on his lost limb. A dark glow enveloped the space where his leg had been, and soon, muscles, bones, and skin began to regenerate before Maki's astonished eyes. The flesh seemed to twist and fuse, but in a matter of seconds, the leg was fully restored. Misaki had used the Reverse Ritual, an advanced technique for healing wounds by using inverted cursed energy.
Maki prepared to attack, her instincts screaming to take advantage of any opening, but Kaede raised a hand to stop her.
"It's useless. As long as he's using the Reverse Ritual, his wounds won't mean anything." Kaede's voice was controlled, but there was a glint of interest in his eyes. He seemed more intrigued than surprised by Misaki's abilities.
Misaki flexed his new leg, testing its functionality, and then let out a laugh. "I warned you, Naoya. I'm not the same as before."
Kaede, still maintaining the facade of Naoya, shrugged, his smile as confident as ever. "You're not the only one who has evolved, Misaki. Maybe you'll be surprised to see what I can do now." Kaede took a deep breath, his eyes sharp like a predator's, and in that moment, Maki noticed a subtle but terrifying change in the air around him. Kaede was about to unleash something he hadn't shown before.
Suddenly, Kaede lifted a finger towards Misaki, and a shadow began to form around his body. "Heavenly Projection," he murmured. And in the blink of an eye, Kaede used one of Naoya's techniques: Heavenly Projection.
The world seemed to freeze for a second, and then, in a flash, Kaede moved at an impossible speed, as if he had fragmented time itself. For Maki, who had only heard of this technique, it was shocking to see how quickly and precisely Kaede used it. The projection caused his body to multiply into dozens of images, each one attacking Misaki from different angles in perfect sequence. Every second, it seemed like a new version of Naoya was striking his brother from all directions.
Misaki, though fast, was overwhelmed by the sheer speed of the attacks. He blocked some, but not all. Kaede's sword repeatedly cut him, leaving deep marks in his regenerated skin, each strike cutting deeper than the last.
"What the hell…?" Maki thought as she watched the scene. This can't be the Naoya I know... his style is completely different. Something's wrong.
Despite being caught in the barrage of attacks, Misaki managed to release another wave of cursed energy, pushing Kaede back a few meters. "Damn it, you're not as fast as I thought!" he growled, panting, but his body was covered in cuts, and his regeneration was starting to fail.
Kaede, still in Naoya's guise, smiled disdainfully, his gaze cold. "I warned you, you're out of your league. This is just the beginning."
But deep down, Kaede knew he was reaching his limit. Using Naoya's abilities, even with his experience, required an exhaustive amount of control, and fatigue was beginning to set in. Still, his expression betrayed no weakness.
"Maki-chan," he said in a commanding tone, without taking his eyes off Misaki, "cover my back. Let's put an end to this."
Maki, still confused by everything she was witnessing, prepared to follow his lead, though her mind was still searching for answers. As the two of them advanced toward the wounded curse, one burning question lingered in her mind: Who is this man, really?
But there was no time for questions. The battle was far from over, and Misaki, though injured, would not be defeated so easily.